Sea Flower
by Kariah
Summary: Hyrule's hazy history has Link and Zelda teaming up with a Zola maiden to uncover a series of riddles left behind by the Goddess of Time. A story of the past reveals all the mysteries of the land above and below the Great Sea of Hyrule.
1. Treasure

Sea Flower

Treasure

A young sailor and his sister were aboard a small boat casting fishing lines into the water hoping to catch fish for a tasty treat. Grandma had sent them to get fish for the birthday party of a special island member.

The young girl was wearing a green dress and her blonde hair was in short braids. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with excitement as she felt a tug on her fishing line. Her brother watched her in amusement as she pulled the string into the boat as fast as she could. She held up a shiny common fish and had a huge grin on her face.

"Big brother, I caught one!" she excitedly exclaimed. He laughed at her and shook his head in amusement.

"Good job Aryll, it's a decent size too, stuff it into this bottle so it will keep till we get back to Outset," the boy said to Aryll, passing her a clean bottle. She carefully put the fish into the bottle and threw her hook back into the water.

The boy smiled encouragingly at Aryll as she tugged vigorously on the fishing line. He had blonde hair and azure eyes as well. He was lean and quick, and he was a fighter. The sword strapped across his back proved that he was brave, but the kind look in his azure eyes also meant that he was honourable and just.

He had a lazy way of looking at the world, but you knew he meant business when the time of danger had arrived. Right now he was relaxed and tugging on his fishing line every now and then.

The familiar sound that issued up from under the boat told the boy that they had drifted over sunken treasure. He quickly used his grappling hook to pull the treasure chest to the surface. Aryll ignored him, focusing on her fishing line and waiting patiently for a fish to bite.

"Aryll! Look at this!" he exclaimed after seeing the contents of the chest. It was a parchment scroll that had a smaller chest within it. Confused, the boy looked at the chest to find the keyhole, but all he found was the carved out part in the shape of the Triforce on the top, and six small circular holes around the Triforce, and three small raised platforms.

"Link, it's just a chest in another chest, there is nothing special about it," Aryll said annoyed, still tugging on the line. Link's instincts were telling him something else though, this was something special and there was something very valuable in the chest if it sent you on a treasure hunt to find the keys to the lid.

Link carefully placed the parchment and the chest and the piece of silver carefully at the bow. He was turning the possibilities of the chest around in his mind. What was the thing in the box? Was it old? Did it belong to the Hero of Time? Did it come from that time?

These questions came one after the other, slowly turning around in his mind. Aryll was the only one catching fish anyway so he ignored his fishing line for a while until he could straighten out his thoughts. However he wasn't allowed to contemplate for long. There was a vicious tug on his fishing line that nearly pulled him into the water. Aryll dropped her own line to help her brother out and together they pulled the line out of the water.

"Jeez! Did you let it sink to the bottom of the sea?" Aryll demanded while pulling with all her strength. Link grunted in reply, as they pulled hard. Soon, they pulled it close enough to the surface that they could see what they had caught. It was a big fish that was still thrashing around. Link pulled hard and the fish came flying out of the water and landed on top of him.

The fish let out a loud scream and Link found himself staring into sparkling emerald green eyes. It didn't stop him from reacting quickly though, he quickly flipped it over and pinned it to the floor of the boat. Aryll carefully approached the creature that her brother was sitting on.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you, please hold still," Aryll said gently, pulling the hook out of its tangled fiery auburn hair. It was then that Link noticed the piece of silver that was around the creature's neck.

"Where did you get that?" Link demanded suddenly, scaring both Aryll and the creature.

"It was given to me by my mother," it hissed at him. Link pulled the other piece out and found that they interlocked. It flashed white light and floated away from the girl to the treasure box that was on the floor by the bow of the boat. They all watched it curiously.

The piece of silver placed itself in the right hand triangle, of the Triforce symbol. Link and Aryll and the creature gazed at it in confusion, but Link found his voice the fastest and he turned to the creature.

"Who and what are you?"

Please review, I would like to know if you like this new story!

Note, I don't own the Legend of Zelda and this disclaimer is for the whole story!


	2. Meetings

Meetings

"What and who are you?" Link asked the creature. The creature was almost Hylian, but had a few differences. Its hands were webbed and her auburn hair almost had a ruby red tinge to it in the sun, flowed around her pale blue skin. The tail was a green colour and very much like regular fish.

"I'm am a special breed of Zola, from fish we evolved long ago, and we were known as the Zora, eventually my people disobeyed the treaty set up by the King of Hyrule. At the time the Gerudo were searching for ways to survive, one way involved becoming blood brothers with the Zola, now through the Gerudo blood lines we have become more Hylian but still swim in the sea. That piece of silver was passed down from the Gerudo to me. Why is it responding to you?" it asked quietly, unashamed of its dark history.

Link shrugged, he didn't know the purpose of the chest either, but suddenly, two specific words stood out to him, Zora and Gerudo. Laruto, the ancient Earth Sage was a Zora from the ancient civilization of Hyrule, and Ganondorf, whom Link had defeated a couple of years ago, was known as a Gerudo.

"Wait, you said you were a descendant of both Gerudo and Zora blood?" Link asked, looking at the Zola. The glittery green eyes faced Link and with a nod she jumped back overboard. Link scrambled to the edge of the boat.

"Wait! We need your help, you know about Hyrule!" Link shouted to the retreating form of the Zola.

"You seem to know enough about it yourself, Hero," She said, with a flirty wink before diving down into the depths of the Great Sea. Link sat down with a sigh, now he didn't know what to do. Aryll sat beside her brother.

"Big brother, what is a Zola, or whatever she called herself?" Aryll asked him quietly. Link looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered.

"Well, according to what she said, Zola were once Zora whom were humanoid fish, with webbed feet and hands. Apparently some of them turned against the Hylians and they called themselves Zola, but that is about all that I know. We would have to find someone that might have record of all that stuff," Link said, thoughtfully, but knowing that it was unlikely that they would find anything. All that was left over from the time of the Hero of Time were the legends and they weren't very detailed about the people.

Link looked back to the box with the engravings on it. There was an inscription on it that he had missed before. It was in ancient Hyrulian text. Link let out a small groan. If he was going to find out what the inscription said, he would have to talk to Tingle, and that would mean spending a great amount of rupees.

He picked the box up and gently shook it, but he didn't hear anything inside rattle around, not that that meant anything but still. He ran his left hand over the carved out places and over the silver triangle that was now illuminating the Triforce of Wisdom. The silver triangle seemed to light up as Link's hand ran over it, almost as though it were reacting to the Triforce of Courage currently in Link's possession.

"Link, the sun is setting, we have to get moving or else we won't get these fish back in time for Orca's birthday," Aryll said, snapping Link back as she pulled another fish into the boat. Link shook his head clear and gave Aryll a smile.

"You're right Aryll. We have to start heading back," Link said, pulling in his fishing line and bringing out a fabled instrument. It was the Wind Waker, another Hyrulian artefact. It controlled the patterns of the winds. Link conducted the Wind's Requiem. Changing the direction of the wind to the South, Link unfurled the sails to send the on their way home to Outset Island.

Aryll giggled as the wind pulled her hair loose from its braids and blew wildly in the wind. Link laughed with her in temporary contentment. Soon the island's docks came into view and Link furled the sail, and brought the boat in slowly.

Nadima, Link and Aryll's Grandma, rushed down to the dock with a relieved smile on her face.

"Link, Aryll, thank heavens your safe, how many fish did you manage to catch?" Nadima asked all in one happy breath. Link laughed merrily as he held up the stringer full of fish.

"Here ya go Grandma," Link said still laughing as he handed the fish to her. Nadima snatched the fish away from Link and she scurried back to the house. Link and Aryll were still chuckling as they watched her disappear into the house.

"Well, sis, I'm heading up into the Forbidden Forest, to collect some firewood. You help Grandma clean the fish, I'll be back in a little while," Link said turning towards the path that lead to the Forbidden Forest.

"Big brother, be careful, the woods are full of monsters after dark, you know that Grandma will worry," Aryll said, worry crossing her face.

"Aryll, I'm seventeen years old and have fought tougher things than that forest can throw at me. Moblins are about the meanest thing in the forest and they are big pushovers. I'll be out when the constellation of Farore enters the night sky. I promise," Link said with a smirk, as he jogged along the island and jumping across the rocks to the other half of the island.

Link jogged up through the trees and made his way to the newly built bridge that went across to the Forbidden Forest. He calmly walked across the bridge and he entered the woods that were shrouded in darkness due to the trees. Link could make out the orange rays of the setting sun through the trees, but he was listening for the Moblins that would surely be out at this time of day.

Strangely enough, Link couldn't find the two Moblins that inhabited the forest. Frowning, Link walked carefully, keeping his eyes open and listening for the sounds of the creature that had done away with the two Moblins.

"Are you looking for these things?" a voice asked in the darkness. Link spun around searching for the creature that had spoken. He quickly found the remains of the local Moblins.

"Who is there?" Link called out calmly. Standing still, the Triforce of Courage erased any fear that Link could have felt. He let his warrior instincts take over and he searched for his nemesis using his senses. He quickly found the creature to his right side in the shadows of the trees. He slowly moved sideways towards the creature that he hadn't been able to identify yet.

Link noted that the creature had noticed him moving toward it and started to find a new shadow to hide in, but Link was at its side in an instant with his blade pressed against its throat.

"I like to have answers when I ask questions, now answer me, who are you?" Link hissed in its ear. Regardless of the blade at its throat, it turned around to look Link in the eyes.

"My name is Mali. Now let me go Hero," She said rather calmly. Link slowly withdrew his blade, noting the small sword at her hip. He stayed on guard in case she had a reason to kill him.

"What are you doing up here in the Forbidden Forest?" Link asked, backing out of sword range so he would have a better chance to defend himself.

"Waiting for you Hero," Mali replied, also moving away.

"And why were you waiting for me?" Link asked, advancing to keep her from escaping.

"You have something that belongs to me," Mali answered. Link's face had a flicker of confusion before he replied.

"I don't have anything that belongs to you Mali, I don't even know who you are," Link answered dangerously, he didn't like being accused of things that he didn't commit.

"The box with the Triforce on it that you pulled from the sea earlier today belongs to me," Mali said calmly, moving towards Link now.

"Why would you hide it in the sea if it belongs to you?" Link said undaunted. She froze when he said that.

"I…I…I didn't hide it there," she stuttered and suddenly she fell flat on her face when she tripped over a tree root. Link blinked and then he felt laughter bubbling up at the back of his throat. He wasn't able to stop it and it sounded out around the clearing. He quickly sheathed his sword and held out his hand to help Mali back to her feet. She gratefully took his hand and pulled herself up, chuckling slightly despite herself..

"Do you know what is in the box Mali?" Link asked, controlling his laughter. She stopped giggling and slowly shook her head.

"I don't know what is in the box, only that you need fifteen keys to open it," she said quietly.

"How about we look for the keys together, but we talk about this more later, I still have to gather firewood for Orca's birthday. Would you like to help me?" Link asked, suddenly remembering why he had come into the Forbidden Forest in the first place.

"Okay, lets get this firewood of yours," Mali said good naturedly, bend down and picking up some of the fallen logs that Link had sawed apart a while back. After several trips across the bridge, Mali and Link had gathered enough firewood to last the night.

Link still hadn't been able to make out Mali's features due to the darkness in the forest and the night skies outside of the forest. Mesa and Abe had already started a fire to fry the fish on and Nadima was getting ready to put a metal grill over the fire. Link quickly gave her a hand while Mali watched.

"Mali, come with me inside to get the fish for Grandma," Link called heading to his house. She followed Link quickly inside, and was almost run over by a smaller girl. Aryll was in a hurry for something, she didn't even apologize. Mali chuckled slightly before entering the house. Link turned around and what he saw almost made him drop the pan of fish he was holding.

Mali's eyes were the colour of glittering emeralds and her hair shined as though rubies were spun into it. Her clothes consisted of a skirt that went to her ankles and a top that made him blush, they were sapphire blue. She raised a ruby red questioning eyebrow to Link.

"Umm, you…" Link stuttered, he quickly turned away from her. He couldn't believe that the Goddesses could create a creature so beautiful. Nadima suddenly appeared in the doorway, breaking Link's embarrassment.

"Link dear, are you bringing those fish or what?" She asked, peering at Link's face. She looked over at Mali, and a mischievous grin crossed her face.

"My dear, it looks like my grandson is embarrassed. Maybe you should cheer him up a little," Nadima said, deftly grabbing the pan of fish from Link's nervous hands and with a wink at Mali, she disappeared through the door. And evil glint flashed across Mali's eyes as she slowly approached Link.

"Aww, is the Hero nervous?" Mali asked, backing Link into a corner, blushing madly as he went. He wanted to say something, but his voice wouldn't work. All of a sudden Mali burst out laughing.

"The look…on your…face…haha," she giggled. Link gave her a death glare before moving away from her.

"Very funny," he muttered, grabbing the second pan of fish and avoiding her gaze. How was he going to survive if this girl went on a voyage with him? Suddenly he felt her touch his arm and a look of concern was written across her face.

"I'm sorry Link, but I…I…" she stopped and pulled away as Aryll came bounding into the house.

"Link, Grandma says that she needs the next pan of fish, like now," Aryll said, suddenly gazing at Mali, "Who is this Link?"

"That is Mali, I met her in the Forbidden Forest while I was gathering firewood," Link said quietly, going outside with the pan of fish.

Link carefully placed the pan beside his grandma and turned to face the dock. He slowly walked to the end of the dock and sat down, staring out at the calm sea. He wondered about Mali, and found himself wondering who she was and why she was hiding in the Forbidden Forest in the first place. He wondered how Tetra was doing governing at the Tower of Gods. He wondered what was in the Hyrulian box that required fifteen keys to open it.

Link sensed that Mali was nearby, but he didn't move.

"Hero, are you okay?" She asked quietly, sitting down beside him.

"Who are you Mali, and why were you in the Forbidden Forest earlier?" Link asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"My name is Mali, and I come from the sea," she said quietly. Link gaped at her slightly; she must be the Zola that they had met earlier!

"You're a Zola?" Link asked, turning to look at her eyes more closely. He was right, they were the same as the Zola's. Mali nodded and looked out to the sea.

"The ancient magic that the Zora possessed is still strong in my blood. I can change my shape to suit my needs, the same way that the original Zora race escaped Ganondorf's wrath. They became what you now know as the Rito. The Zola are different from me still, they still resemble the Zora, but I'm a half breed, the blood of the Gerudo also runs in my veins. My people call me a seer, for I know the history of the land below the surface of the Great Sea, they fear it," Mali said quietly. Link looked thoughtfully at her for a moment.

"You should meet Tetra, she would like to learn more about the country that she is the heir of," Link said looking to the north.

"Tetra, she is the Princess of Hyrule isn't she?" Mali asked.

"She is, she would be interested in the box that was at the bottom of the sea too," Link said, wondering what future adventures awaited him.

"So how much are you going to tell me now?" Link asked knowingly. Mali laughed a bit.

"Not very much Hero, I know exactly who I am and exactly who you are. It's a gift of some sort, but anyway, don't we have a birthday party to be at?" Mali asked, point back at the beach. Link grinned, and taking her hand in his, they ran up the beach to the supper and celebration.

**(A/N) There ya go, a new chapter full of bold new possibilities. I challenge you to review and suggest something to happen next, how should Tetra react to the newcomer, should Aryll go on the voyage. Let me know and we shall see what happens! I really enjoyed writing this chapter so some feedback would really make my day!**

**Kariah, **

**(Also, if you haven't read Under the Hyrulian Moon, it will help you make sense of some of this plot line later, so leave a review there too!)**


	3. Old Hyrulian Riddle

Old Hyrulian Riddle

Link woke up to the sun shining brightly in his face and something warm in his arms. He was startled to find Mali in his arms. He remembered that they were looking at the stars on the beach after Orca's party and then falling asleep. She must have snuggled closer because of the cold.

The sun shone on her hair making it look like molten fire and her bronze skin shimmered. Link silently marvelled at the beautiful girl in his arms. A sudden wave decided to get her bare feet wet, waking her instantly. Link chuckled slightly at the bewildered look on her face.

"Good morning sea flower," Link said, nicknaming her. Her emerald greens were still trying to figure out what she was doing on land and in the arms of a Hylian stranger. She wasn't responding and Link began to grow worried.

"Mali, are you ok?" Link asked, gently shaking her dazed form. Suddenly Link thought of something, Mali was a sea creature, she had just spent her first night out of water and practically beside a stranger. Maybe she needed the water more than she thought. Link carefully picked her up and waded out into the ocean with Mali in his arms.

The water seemed to awaken her soul and her eyes came back into focus again.

"Feeling better?" Link asked quietly, causing an involuntary shiver down Mali's spine. Her eyes showed recognition, but slight confusion.

"Um, I don't know, where am I? Why do I recognize you?" Mali asked confused. Link frowned slightly; he didn't know what to do with this girl. She was completely baffled by everything; Link had half a mind to leave her in the middle of the ocean. Link set her down in the water and took a step away from her.

"Your name is Mali, you came to Orca's birthday party last night, we watched the stars for hours and we fell asleep on the beach. My name is Link, I'm the Hero of Winds," Link said slowly swimming around her.

Mali frowned and suddenly she found her feet pulled out from under her. She slipped under the water, but was swiftly brought back to the surface by strong arms.

Link knew it was mean of him to knock her off her feet but the water seemed to be her wake up call. He quickly caught her and brought her back to the surface. Mali came up spluttering and mad as a shark.

"Link! Don't ever do that again!" Mali cried in frustration. Link frowned slightly as he swam away from Mali.

"There is something wrong with you, I want you to tell me what it is," Link said quietly. Mali frowned and then grew horrified as she figured out what he was talking about.

"I don't know, it only happens when I am out of water for a long time, like last night and this morning, I'm so sorry Link, I don't know what it is," Mali cried as tears started to form and she turned away.

Link didn't know what to do; he never met a girl his age that was so sensitive. Tetra was bold and outgoing, taking an insult and giving one back.

"Um, Mali, I'm sorry, I didn't understand, please!" Link shouted at her retreating back.

"I'm going to get ready," Mali said abruptly, squeezing the water out of her fiery hair.

"Crazy women, they can't even take an apology," Link muttered before climbing onto the dock. He went to where his boat was tied and began to find the things that were supposed to stay there. He came across a chart and he recognized it as the one that came with the chest with many keys. Link once again ran his hand over the places for the keys and the ancient Hyrulian text. He tucked the box into the compartment at the front of the boat. He packed some food and then made a place for Mali to sit.

Out of the corner of Link's eye, he saw something ran at him full tilt with blond hair. He swiftly turned around and he found the blond hair of his sister.

"Big brother, you have to take me!" Aryll cried, hugging him tightly. Link looked around desperately and his gaze landed on Mali coming down to the docks.

"Um, sis, I don't think it's a good idea. Besides, I took you out yesterday when we went fishing," Link said gently. Aryll noticed that Mali had come down to the docks.

"Mali, can I please come?" Aryll begged, her sapphire eyes giving puppy eyes. Link gave an exasperated sigh and gently pulled Aryll away from Mali's skirts.

"Aryll, how many times do I have to tell you, I can't take you with me, it's too dangerous in my little boat," Link said quietly, "I can't take both of you."

"Link, she needs to come," Mali said suddenly. Link glared at Mali slightly but found that she was totally serious. Link sighed and hugged Aryll.

"Fine, go get packed," Link said, hoping he wouldn't regret this decision. Aryll ran back to the house in a hurry. Mali placed a small bag in the boat and then she glanced at Link.

"You have to trust me Link, somehow she is going to be needed, we have to take her with us," Mali said quietly. Link mumbled something coherently and placed her bag in the compartment. Mali sighed and carefully entered the boat. Shortly Aryll bounced down to the dock with Grandma Nadima right behind her.

"Link, make sure that you take care of your sister and your young friend," Nadima said, worry already etched across her face. Link gave Nadima a warning look.

"We'll be fine Grandma, there isn't much left out there that I can't defeat. Aryll say good bye, we are going now," Link said, rather harshly. Link set his sail up and with the wind already blowing northwest they were off.

The mood in the boat was definitely not joyful. Link was still ticked off at Mali for more than one reason. Mali was mad at Link for being pigheaded and Aryll seemed to be caught in the middle of their silent argument.

Link was silently brooding over several things, the mysteries that surrounded Mali and the mysteries that surrounded the box with the Hyrulian text on it. He was getting restless, most times he would just use the Ballad of Gales to take him to the Tower of Gods but with three people in the boat he didn't want to risk anyone flying out.

"So, anything interesting about the sea that I don't know about?" Link asked breaking the silence in the boat. Mali glanced at him curiously before speaking.

"Not much probably. The country of Hyrule was flooded when you battled Ganondorf down there. The Zola that are down there now were actually freed. We were trapped in Hyrule when it was sealed. The Goddesses never brought us to the surface world…" Mali's eyes grew wide and she grew pale. She had said too much. The surface dwellers weren't supposed to know about that.

Link's eyes grew wide and filled with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Link asked quietly.

"Um, I can't tell you Link. It's a secret and I have already told you too much. You have to trust me," Mali pleaded.

"Big Brother, I think that if the Goddesses wanted us to know anything that Mali knows, they would have allowed it. Obviously the gods didn't want us to know about that so they did something so we wouldn't know," Aryll said quietly, softening Link's glare at Mali.

"How much farther Link?" Aryll asked changing the subject.

"Another day and a half if we go this way," Link said, noting that Aryll was getting really restless.

"But if we go using the Ballad of Gales, we could be there in a matter of seconds," Link said hesitantly. Aryll perked right up as Link said that. Link groaned at her enthusiasm.

He fished the Wind Waker out of his pack and quickly conducted the Ballad of Gales.

"Grab onto something solid!" Link shouted as the winds began to pick up. Mali's eyes were wide and fearful. Her instincts told her to swim, but she held on and closed her eyes tight.

The King of Red Lions took to the sky in the tornado of wind and dropped them back on the sea in the front of the Tower of Gods.

"Mali, you can open your eyes now," Link said gently, his calmness breaking through her shock and fear.

Mali slowly opened her eyes and she was looking right into Link's concerned azure orbs. She slowly loosened her hold on the boat and slowly stood up, taking in her surroundings.

"Welcome to the Tower of Gods Mali. This is where Tetra is using her heritage to bring the Great Sea into organization and to find new lands," Link said, a certain amount of pride behind his statement. He helped Mali and Aryll onto the staircase and then jumped out of the boat himself. Aryll seemed unfazed by using a tornado to travel around.

"Hi, we are here to see Tetra," Link said to a burly man that looked a lot like a pirate to Mali.

"I will let her know that you are here Mister Link," the man said, rushing to a staircase and running up them. Link looked down at the chart and box in his hand. With a sigh he tucked them in his tunic and impatiently waited.

Mali glanced at Link and wondered what was wrong with him. He seemed slightly jittery. A sudden yell and suddenly a blond woman came dashing down the stairs. Link stayed mutually still in his place. Aryll however ran forward and gave the woman a bear hug.

"Tetra!" Aryll cried out. Tetra enthusiastically hugged Aryll.

"So, your big brother finally got off his lazy ass and brought you to see me," Tetra grinned. Aryll nodded happily.

"I'm not lazy," Link muttered darkly. Mali looked at him and couldn't help it. She started to giggle. Tetra finally noticed Mali and her cheerfulness died slightly as she frowned at Mali.

"Link who is this?" Tetra asked, suspicion in her sapphire eyes. Link glanced at Mali and wondered what he should tell Tetra about her.

"Um, Tetra, this is Mali she is a child of the sea," Link said rather cryptically. Tetra raised an eyebrow and circled Mali, noting her appearance and strangeness. Mali stood there calmly.

"Which part of the sea do you come from?" Tetra asked dangerously. Mali smiled quietly at Tetra's suspicious nature. The waters of the Great Sea had trained Hyrule's Queen well.

"I live in the sea," Mali said calmly also eyeing up a potential rival. Tetra drew back in surprise.

"How can you live in the Great Sea you would have to be a fish and the only way that you could be a fish is if you possessed magic which you don't," Tetra spat.

"How would you know Princess Zelda?" Mali asked calmly, taking in with satisfaction the horror and ultimate surprise on her face.

Link grinned in the background. He was deeply entertained by someone finally out insulting Tetra. Aryll wasn't so happy to see the two women fighting but she didn't feel like getting involved in Tetra's shouting and Mali's calm answers.

"Link, get this girl out of my sight," Tetra demanded, turning to Link for help. Link's grin dropped and he glared at her coolly.

"Did it occur to you that I brought her for a reason," Link asked coolly. Tetra opened her mouth to retort but nothing came out. Link nodded in understanding.

"I thought so," He grumbled and with a sigh, dragged them all upstairs before he would talk. Tetra was nonplussed about this but decided not to argue with the Hero of Winds. Link lead them to Tetra's office and then stood behind it.

"I have come here because I thought you would be interested in this artefact Tetra. I found it on the bottom of the sea and then I met Mali shortly after. There is something in this box that is likely of great importance. See, Mali had half of this triangle around her neck and the other half was in the chest with the box. It appears that there are many other keys to this box," there is something written here on this chart and on the box," Link said, explaining the key components of the chest.

"Well, I guess we need somebody who can translate that Hyrulian text that is on the box and on the parchment," Tetra said blandly. Link nodded quietly. Mali glanced at the text for a moment.

"Why do you need to find someone, I can read Old Hyrulian," Mali said, speaking up. Link turned to her incredulously.

"You can read the text!" Link said incredulously. Mali nodded and pulled the box and the parchment to look at it more closely.

"Ok the text on the box reads like this:

_The silver pieces of Gold,_

_The Power of Sages old,_

_The Keys of Time's Realm,_

_The melody of Helm,_

_The treasure of Harkinian_

and the other one is co-ordinates for something," Mali said, looking up.

"Whew, that sounds like a mighty riddle to me," Link whistled. Mali nodded and grabbed a spare sheet of parchment and carefully wrote it down.

"Okay, I have a few ideas about the answers to the riddles. The words other than at the beginning of the riddle that are capitalized must be key parts of the riddle," Mali explained pointing to each word that was capitalized. They all nodded, wanting her to continue.

"Okay, so the first line reads _The silver pieces of Gold,_ that statement is rather contradictory. Gold is likely a thing but silver isn't so what does it mean," she asked, looking directly at Link. Aryll suddenly spoke up.

"What about the silver triangle on the lid of the box?" Aryll asked pointing to the carved out Triforce on the box.

"Of course, the silver pieces of Gold. They mean the silver pieces in the form of the golden Triforce," Tetra said suddenly realizing what it meant.

"Right," Mali said calmly, "the next piece of the riddle states _The power of the Sages old…_" Mali said, pausing for a moment.

"Who are the sages?" Link asked thoughtfully, "are they like Medli and Makar?"

"Hmm, maybe, but I think it's talking about the power that the sages older than even Laruto and Fado had. They were the sages that were around when the Hero of Time saved the land of Hyrule. You do know that story do you not?" Mali asked glancing at Tetra and Link specifically.

"All we know about the Hero of Time was that he was able to defeat Ganondorf when he first stole the Triforce of Power. They say that he rid the land of the monsters and wielded Time itself in his hands. He locked Ganon away but long after the Hero of Time was gone, Ganon broke out of his prison and took his revenge on the people. After that there seemed to be a missing part to the legend. We didn't know what happened to that land until Aryll was stolen away by Ganon and I ventured beneath the sea to the Hyrule Castle which is now under gallons of water and washed away," Link said, telling Mali what they knew.

"Hmm, it's interesting though, how are we supposed to find the power of those sages, they are long gone, and likely all of their descendants met the same fate that Laruto and Fado met," Mali said thoughtfully.

"That maybe, but Laruto and Fado gave their sage duties to existing descendants, so maybe they survived and Ganon didn't know about them," Link reasoned. Mali nodded thoughtfully.

"That maybe but the legend that you know is no longer very accurate and any information that I know about have a good chance of being inaccurate too. Legends get twisted and can become very inaccurate through the ages," Mali countered. She didn't know for sure if the sages of old had descendants or not.

Link nodded in agreement but something was nagging at the back of his mind.

"Hmm, maybe we should move on and see what else we can find in the riddle. What about _The Keys of Time's Realm_?" Link asked.

"I think I know that answer, well part of it. Time's Realm means the Sacred Realm. The Sacred Realm was the place where the Triforce was once hidden. The only entrance to the Sacred Realm was in the Temple of Time in Hyrule City. The Hero of Time once opened the Sacred Realm using three stones and magical instrument. That was how Ganon first laid his hands on the Triforce of Power," Mali explained.

"Then the keys must be the stones that the Hero of Time used to open the door to the Sacred Realm," Link said.

"That maybe but the stones disappeared after Ganon was imprisoned in the Sacred Realm. No one knows where they are," Mali said seeing that this mission was soon going to become mission impossible. Mali began to pace around the room thinking.

Link, Tetra and Aryll wondered what to do; they saw that opening the box was going to be much harder than they had first anticipated. They knew very little about the Hero of Time and his adventure. They watched Mali pace around the room for a moment and noticed that she suddenly tensed.

"What is it Mali?" Link asked.

"Shush!" Mali scolded remaining tense for a moment. Link and the others watched her curiously.

"Link, do you know any of the old spirits of Hyrule?" Mali asked suddenly. Link was confused for a moment.

"Who were the old spirits of Hyrule?" Link asked.

"They were the lords of the people. Um, like Lord Jabu-Jabu and Volvagia, and the Great Deku Tree," Mali said giving him the names that she remembered from the stories that were told to her as a young girl.

"Yes the Great Deku Tree lives in Forest Haven," Link said, starting to grow excited knowing that the Deku Tree might have some answers to the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Mali nodded and Aryll hopped around in excitement. Tetra was a little less enthusiastic.

"Link, I can't go with you, I need to stay here," Tetra said her face miserable. Link took that in and then decided that this was the important part and that Tetra should be with them.

"You can leave for a few days can't you. This could be more important than the actual finding of the keys. Besides, we need your brains Tetra, come with us," Link persuaded. Tetra didn't know what to do, her heart was telling her to go but her mind was keeping her here.

"Milady, I think you should go, whatever is in the box could be important for us," a young woman with chocolate brown hair said, entering the room.

"Nevina, do you think that you can handle everything until I get back?" Tetra asked the pretty girl who entered the room. She nodded and left the room.

"Who is that?" Link asked curiously. He sensed something about the girl, but dismissed it as something with his imagination.

"That is Nevina, she showed up here wondering if she could help me with anything. She said it would be an honour. I thought it was slightly weird but she's a good worker and never complains. So I guess she was a good find, besides its fun to talk to her," Tetra said winking at Mali who understood what she meant. Tetra had a female to share her secrets with and Nevina was the girl. Aryll caught on too and giggled softly.

Link looked at them for a moment and a clueless expression crossed his face. The three of them laughed at him.

"What did I miss?" Link asked confused which made them laugh harder. Finally Mali calmed down enough to speak.

"Never mind Link, lets get going, I want to meet the Great Deku Tree!" Mali exclaimed leading the way out of the Tower. All four of them climbed in the Red Lion and Link brought out the Wind Waker.

"Mali, this is the fastest way to Forest Haven, do you mind?" Link asked. Mali nodded nervously and Link conducted the Ballad of Gales.

_**Alright, sorry for putting this on a slight hold but I needed to finish Under the Hyrulian Moon. It is complete and now my focus is completely on this story. **_

_**Thanks go out to Hopeless Maiden, Emeralddestiny, and ultmate lifeform for review chapter 2.**_

_**Please Review **_

**_Kariah_**


	4. Forest Connections

Forest Connections

The tornado of wind brought the King of Red Lions down right beside Forest Haven. Mali appeared calm and Tetra and Aryll looked windblown, but otherwise everyone seemed to be fine

"To everyone who has never been to Forest Haven, welcome," Link said mockingly. The three girls exchanged looks and then they grinned mischievously. They lunged at Link and threw him overboard. Link came up gasping and clearly annoyed. The girls just laugh hysterically and Link glared at them.

"What the hell was that for!" Link spluttered, swallowing some seawater. The answer he received was more laughter. He muttered darkly to himself as he climbed up onto the bank. Mali was the first one to calm her laughter down to a mild giggle. She hopped ashore and approached Link, still giggling she managed to stuttered out,

"That's a good look for you Hero, soaking wet," Mali chuckled as she gave him a shy smile before climbing up the cliff. Link watched her for a moment before glaring at Aryll and Tetra.

"Can we get going!" Link demanded. Aryll and Tetra calmed down enough to climb out of the Red Lion onto the bank. The girls followed Link up to the waterfall where they found a bit of a glitch in their plans. How were they going to get across?

"Um, Big Brother, how are we going to get across?" Aryll asked, looking at the waterfall.

"We could always throw him across," Tetra joked, earning yet another glare from Link. Mali laughed softly before making a suggestion.

"What if Link throws me across? I am a stronger swimmer than any of you and then I can help catch Tetra and Aryll on the other side," she suggested quietly. Link glanced at her and then at the waterfall, he wasn't sure if he could throw her that far and the waterfall would definitely take her over and then they would be right back where they started. Link had gone over that fall a few times and there was no stopping it.

"Mali, chances are the only thing that will happen is you are going to get wet and then we will be right back at this situation," Link reasoned, not particularly wanting to throw her possibly to her death. Mali rolled her eyes and turned away. Tetra sensed that Mali was going to defy Link and she was eagerly waiting to see what Mali would do.

Mali backed slightly away from the group and focused on her goal. She knew it would take the right timing and the perfect leap to make it across. So with a deep breath, Mali ran. She ran to the edge and leapt it a perfect arc. She splashed into the water a few feet away from where the water was falling over the cliff.

Link, Aryll and Tetra couldn't see her anymore and began to worry, what if she drowned? Suddenly a familiar red head popped onto a bank that split the waterfall into two. She had reverted back to her true form and was sitting on the rock.

"I guess she is a fish," Tetra said, slightly shocked.

"Link, do you still have your grappling hook?" Mali called from the opposite bank.

"Yes, but we all can't use it only one person can," Link shouted above the dull roar of the waterfall.

"Push Aryll on it like a swing and then when she lets go I will catch her and the same for Tetra, then you can come across with the rope," Mali yelled back. Link looked sceptically and he wasn't sure if he wanted Aryll to go first, but then instinct was also telling him to trust Mali. He went with his instincts.

"Ok, lets do this," Link said, swinging his grappling hook onto the sturdy branch above. He showed Aryll how to hang onto the rope and told her that Mali would shout when she should let go and that Aryll would have to trust her.

Aryll nodded slightly scared but determined to be brave like her brother. She held on to the rope tightly. Suddenly she felt her feet leave the cliff and she was suspended over the waterfall.

"Ahhh!" She screamed, totally terrified.

Mali watched from the rock and yelled when Aryll's feet were over her rock.

"Let go!" Mali watched as Aryll closed her eyes tight and clung to the rope even tighter. Mali watched as Aryll's motion brought her back over the rock and was able to grab onto Aryll's leg.

"Aryll let go, you are safe now," Mali said, her calm breaking through Aryll's terror. Tetra and Link watched as Aryll slowly let herself down into Mali's strong arms. The rope came swing back as Aryll let go of it. Link grabbed it and gave it to Tetra who confidently jumped off of the cliff and landed with a soft thud on the rock on the other side.

Link then grabbed the rope and used to get to the other side. He recoiled the rope when he landed and then looked at Aryll who had a look of awe written across her face.

"Don't give me that look Aryll, you will have to do it again," Link said ignoring the panicked look that crossed her face.

"I am not doing it again," Aryll exclaimed loudly. Link frowned at her and so did Tetra.

Mali ignored them as she jumped back into the water to swim up the next waterfall. She swam skilfully toward the smaller waterfalls and with careful timing and precision she jumped up and landed on the next level. Soon she had made it to the entrance of Forest Haven while the other three were still arguing.

"Are you coming or not? Or do I just have to ask the Deku Tree all of the questions without you?" Mali called from the entrance, standing again on human legs. They all stared at her wondering how the hell she got over there so quickly.

Tetra swung on the rope and landed gracefully in the pool of water that was gently flowing out of the entrance to Forest Haven. Link found that Aryll would either have to go by herself or she would have to hang onto him while they both swung across. It turned out to be the latter.

Link and Aryll landed unceremoniously in a heap in the pool. Mali shook her head while laughing softly and Tetra was laughing hard. Link and Aryll looked at each other and began to laugh too.

Link regained control and together they all walked into Forest Haven.

"Wow, it's so big," Aryll said in wonder and awe.

"Good thing too, otherwise Link here would never of found it," Tetra teased. Link opened his mouth to retort but Mali seemed to distract him.

She had once again gracefully made her way up the path and was standing there waiting for them impatiently. Link sighed and followed Mali, the other two right behind him. The soon found themselves in front of the Great Deku Tree and many little beings. Link was surprised to see them.

"Look who has come to join us on this wondrous day. The annual ceremony of the Deku Tree! It's the swordsman!" one little Korok cried. Link grinned and Aryll's eyes widened in excitement. Suddenly Link realized why Mali seemed to be in a hurry, she knew that today was the Deku Tree ceremony and she didn't want to miss it.

Link grinned as the energetic children of the forest surrounded Mali, chattering excitedly. Mali seemed to glow as she chattered back to the Korok children and her green eyes sparkled like emeralds.

Tetra noticed the way that Link looked at Mali and knew that he was falling for the strange girl. Tetra fought down the streak of jealousy and ignored them. She couldn't do anything to Mali while Link was there anyway.

"Hey everybody, lets start the celebration!" a voice said out above the chattering. Link looked up and found the Wind Sage, Makar. With his violin, Makar began to play a new ceremony song.

Mali started to dance and all of the little Koroks danced with her. Soon everyone was dancing and Mali began to sing. Almost as though she was in a trance she sang what sounded like a spunky song in old Hyrulian.

She continued to dance to the beat and the tune and so did the Koroks. Towards the end of the song the Great Deku Tree was able to produce the most fruitful of seeds ever produced on the Great Sea.

The Sea Koroks took to the skies and began to shout their goodbyes.

"Goodbye Great Deku Tree!"

"See you next year!"

"Good health to you and your friends Swordsman!"

Soon their farewells were heard no more as they flew out to plant the seed of new forests. The only Koroks left in Forest Haven were the young ones, Hallo and Makar.

'_Young one whom speaks in thy old tongue, come and speak to me,'_ the Deku Tree beckoned. Mali blushed shyly as she made her way to the big lily pad to speak to the tree.

Link looked at Tetra with a confused expression on his face. Tetra was equally confused. Link recognized the language that Valoo and Jabun spook in. However, Mali's people probably spoke that old Hyrulian language.

'_You are different. You are an old Hyrulian like myself. You have knowledge of Saria, or at least her song. Tell me what brings you to Forest Haven bearing the ancient forest song' _The Deku Tree spoke, once again in old Hyrulian. Mali hesitated for a moment before speaking. She chose to speak in old Hyrulian as well.

'_The Hero of Winds has found an artefact from old Hyrule. We need help answering the riddle that inscribed on the artefact. We were hoping that you might know some of the answers. As for Saria's song I didn't know that it was a specific song. I recognized the melody that young Makar played and so I sang with it. _Who is Saria" Mali asked, reverting back to the Great Sea language.

"Saria was a Forest Sage. It was her song that gave life to the magical Kokiri Forest so long ago. All that remains is what is here in Forest Haven. The Koroks and me are the only thing left of the forest. Saria was the last known Forest Sage. She never named an heir or a descendant," The Deku Tree said.

"Was she a sage that would correspond with our riddle?" Link asked from the ground. Mali wondered too.

"The Power of Sages old. Maybe Link, she could have been a sage of old. Great Deku Tree, do you know if she was a sage of old or something of that description?" Mali asked.

"Saria never told me about her duties as the Forest Sage. All I know is that she was one of many sages that imprisoned Ganondorf in the Golden Land for all eternity, or so it was thought," The Deku Tree said, his deep voice rumbling slightly through Forest Haven.

"As I thought, she was around during the Hero of Time's journey. Do you know anything about the other sages? Also do you know anything about the Spiritual Stones? They were said to disappear after the Hero of Time closed the Door of Time," Mali asked.

"Hmm, the other sages other than Saria were never revealed to me. It was essential that they were kept secret. Only the Hero of Time and Sage of Time knew the identities of the other sages. The Spiritual Stones were destroyed and the magic that was in them to open the Door of Time was changed to serve a different purpose for the goddesses although that purpose was never specified," The Deku Tree explained, growing tired of the questions.

Mali sighed and then thanked the Deku Tree before jumping down to speak to her friends.

"I think we are getting closer to some clues, I have to go and think," Mali said, beginning to pace again.

"Mali, what if what we are looking for is right under our noses? I mean Makar is the Wind Sage and he took over from Fado, Fado was a Kokiri child, do you think there is a connection between Makar and Saria through Fado?" Link asked, spinning out new possibilities. Mali nodded accepting the possibility, but the connections between people was beginning to bother her.

She wished that the records that had once been stored at Hyrule Castle wouldn't have been destroyed when the seawater came crashing in. Somewhere in the mountain of parchment paper there had to be some record of who the sages were.

Link was also pacing and trying to figure out the information that had been given to them. Tetra was thinking quietly to one side and Aryll was playing with the young Koroks. They were bored with the riddle solving and wanted to play. So Aryll went to play with them.

"Maybe the Goddesses hid some documents in the Tower of Gods and we never found them," Tetra came up with helplessly

"Maybe, but the Tower was originally underwater so the documents were probably destroyed anyway," Mali countered thoughtfully.

"Mali is there any possible way that Hyrule would have survived at the bottom of the sea? Maybe there are still some clues down there," Link proposed.

"Even if there were Link, I would be the only one able to see it. You can't dive that far," Mali said, somewhat distracted. She had written the clues that and some of the information down that they knew.

"Well, what about the sea chart that you deciphered, what about that?" Link asked, looking at the other piece of old parchment paper, "we can at least find the other pieces of the silver Triforce."

"Link, it's getting late, lets go back to your island or to the Tower of Gods, I'm getting tired," Aryll spoke up for the first time in a while.

"I think we all are getting tired Aryll. I have such a headache," Tetra exclaimed, massaging her temples. Mali ignored them as she was trying to figure something out.

"The Spiritual Stones were destroyed and the magic that was in them to open the Door of Time was changed to serve a different purpose for the goddesses although that purpose was never specified," Mali muttered to herself, she knew that the Deku Tree wasn't giving them straight answers. He was being rather cryptic. She sensed that he knew what happened to the Spiritual Stones for he was once a holder of one.

"Wait a minute!" Mali cried out in excitement. Link and Tetra jumped in surprise at Mali's shout.

"Deku Tree, you said that the magic in the Spiritual Stones was changed to serve a different purpose. Was that purpose to raise the tower from the depths of the sea?" Mali asked, excitement behind her voice. The Deku Tree looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I suppose, I never thought of it like that, in fact it never occurred to me. I wasn't the original holder of the Kokiri Emerald. The Great Deku Tree was the original holder. The Hero of Time was already in possession of the Kokiri Emerald before I first took root in the Kokiri Forest," the Deku Tree said thoughtfully.

"Then that would mean the pearls of the goddesses are three of the keys," Link said quietly, Din's Pearl, Nayru's Pearl and Farore's Pearl. They are set on the Triangle Isles to the north and east," Link said quietly, wondering how on earth they could get the pearls off the mounts now that they were there.

"Mali, lets leave the rest of the answers for another day, we have to get going, the sun is going to set soon and Aryll wants to go my oasis," Link said, slowly moving to the exit of the haven.

Mali nodded, but there was still the connect between Saria and Fado that was bugging her. Who was the Sage Saria, and how did her role become a key to the riddle that they were trying to solve.

She quickly thanked the Deku Tree and then followed the three Hylians out of the Haven.

* * *

"She is a smart one Deku Tree. She figured out your message quite well," Makar commented, watching them go.

"All I can do is hope that the goddesses don't mind revealing my secret to them. Farore's Pearl indeed houses the power of the Kokiri Emerald. I only hope that that which was locked away won't bring more trouble for the Hero of Winds and the Queen," The Deku Tree sighed.

"It will be fine, but what is Fado's connection to Saria?" Makar asked.

"You will know one day Makar, but now is not the time. When the strange one figures out the riddle you will know soon enough," The Deku Tree said lowly.

* * *

By the time the party of four reached the oasis, the sun was sinking below the seas and everyone was exhausted. They entered the warm cabana and there Link relaxed for a bit.

Mali was still thinking about the riddle, trying to search out any clues that she might have missed. She was sitting out on the chairs by the fresh water pool on the island. Link was saddened to see her so lonely, he knew how she felt. He was lonely for a time when he was finding ways to find his sister and doing it without friends most of the time. Other than the King of Red Lions, Link was lonely too. He joined her by the poolside.

"How are you doing Mali?" Link asked, sitting rather close to her. Mali tensed slightly and Link took the hint and moved away.

"I've been better Link," Mali sighed, looking out at her ocean home. The ocean held so many secrets; the past is where one often has to look for answers. Link moved closer again and pulled her into his arms.

"It will turn out alright Mali, don't worry, I don't think there is a deadline on how we figure everything out. Sometimes it takes time to figure these things out. Things like that will reveal its answers when the time is right and not a moment sooner," Link said firmly. Mali tensed up as she felt Link gently stroking her arm in comfort.

"Link, don't," Mali whispered in distress. Link looked down into her emerald depths and found something that shocked him. Her eyes were wide in terror and they were pleading that he would let her go.

From what Link knew about Mali, she was only a little shy, but confident in everything she did. She was showing him a deep scar that wouldn't heal. He wondered what could have possibly happened to her. She was a sea creature; she couldn't have come in contact with the Hylians in Old Hyrule. Her people wouldn't have allowed it. Link hesitantly let go of her and then he moved away from her.

"Mali, I don't understand. What's the matter?" Link asked quietly, his azure eyes filled with concern. Mali dropped her gaze and turned to face the sea.

"I…I am scared, don't give me that look Link, you don't know what happened and you never will," Mali said tears starting to flow from her eyes.

Link wanted to understand, but how could he. She wasn't telling him anything and the way she acted back at home confused him greatly. This was the girl that was flirting with him when they had first met and now she was shying away from his attention like he was a monster.

"Mali, I don't mean you any harm. You have to trust me when I say that I want to help you conquer your fear of…well whatever it is your afraid of," Link said confidently. Mali gazed back at him, her eyes suspicious of his true intentions. What she saw was pure innocence and concern. Her eyes softened slightly before she slowly approached Link.

Hesitantly she looked into his eyes and saw no change other than slight surprise.

"It will be alright, I promise," Link whispered as he gently grew the red head into his arms. She tensed again slightly but slowly relaxed in his arms.

"Come, lets go and get some rest, we have some more riddle solving to do tomorrow," Link said quietly, gently leading them to the cabana.

_Meanwhile, back at the Tower of Gods a young maiden has stumbled upon a hidden room and with wide sapphire eyes she enters the room…_

**

* * *

Woot! Another chapter up! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I want to throw out a bit of a challenge. If someone can figure out some other pieces of the riddle be my guest and leave it in a review! Lol.**

**Thank you to the reviews that reviewed, you guys are awesome!**

**Hopeless Maiden – _thank you so much for your support!_**

**Sparkly Faerie – _lol thank you for the review, I'm glad that you like the story that much._ **

**Ulitmate Lifeform – _I hope that this story is interesting too for your sake and the sake of the rest of my readers._**

**Emeralddestiny – _Ok missy you could at least send an e-mail. Thank you for your review on the previous chapter and don't worry about the riddle you will figure it out soon enough :D_**

**Alchemistangel- _Thank you for reviewing._**

**Living Arrow – _bout time lol, jks jks, and yes Link is probably going to go nuts with three females around him. XD_**

**Dragon Master Sword – _Bout time for you too mister. Your senses of detection are very good lol. Talk to you soon._**

**To the rest of you that didn't review, I hope you are enjoying the story and I would appreciate it if you took the half a minute to review. Thanks **

**Kariah**


	5. Tapestry of Truth

Tapestry of Truth

Mali was the first one awake the next morning. At first she was disoriented again due to lack of water. However it wasn't as bad as it was the morning before. She stretched and then made her way outside to take a refreshing swim in the sea. She finished her swim and lay on the rocks to dry off in the warm morning sun.

Link woke up and was slightly alarmed when he didn't see Mali with the girls sleeping on the other side of the room.

"Tetra, Aryll, have either of you seen Mali?" Link asked, waking the girls up.

"Link we were sleeping why would we know where she is?" Aryll asked groggily. Tetra also muttered something incoherently.

Link rolled his eyes and went outside. He saw Mali sunning herself in one of the chairs by the pool.

"So are you riddling already?" Link asked amused as she was looking at her pieces of information.

"Yes, _the Power of Sages old_, Link what could the sages wield in the form of a power, and how many are there?" Mali mused in frustration. Link shrugged and he glanced at the box.

"I'd say there are six of them. Look here on the box. The six circles around the Triforce and each has a different carving," Link said, looking closer at the box.

"I know I noticed that already too, but I remember that there was supposed to be seven sages and yet this is saying that there are six. What we need is a book that has some information. The riddle itself isn't detailed enough," Mali complained.

"What about the symbols themselves, what do you think they stand for?" Link asked. Mali looked closer at them and then gasped slightly.

"This is the ancient symbol of water," Mali exclaimed her eyes widening as she realized how stupid she was.

"Link I'm so stupid!" Mali shouted wanting to smack her head on something for not realizing it sooner.

"I could have told you that," Tetra said mockingly as she and Aryll came out of the cabana and heard them talking. Mali glared at Tetra and then proceeded to explain what she should have known from the start.

"Damn it, the water symbol is for the Zora race that I was born into! Laruto was a Sage of Earth, but her people are the people of water. The Zora must have had a sage. A Sage of Water!" Mali exclaimed, horrified by her lack of sense.

"So that means there are Sages of Water and Forest," Aryll said, putting two and two together.

"Exactly and this symbol that looks like a paw print is the symbol of the Gorons, they were the people that lived on the fire mountain known as Death Mountain. They probably would have had a Sage of Fire," Mali said quietly.

"That's all great, but there is no trace of a species called Gorons on this sea," Tetra said climbing into the Red Lion so they could head back to the Tower of Gods.

"Maybe not but that doesn't necessarily matter, a sage doesn't necessarily have to give their title to one of blood. They can name an heir powerful enough, has courage to take the task, and wise in all their decisions. That is one of the roles of a sage," Mali said with a slight frown as though she forgot something.

It was a beautiful day and so they had breakfast on the ocean and sailed with the winds guiding them back to the Tower of Gods. Mali seemed distant and Link wondered what was on her mind.

"Mali, 10 rupees for your thoughts," Link asked, not moving from the tiller. She glanced up with something like worry in her eyes. Link gave her a questioning look but she turned away to look out at the sea. Tetra sensed unease in Mali as she stared out onto the ocean.

"Mali, what is the matter?" Tetra whispered, coming close to Mali. Mali looked into Tetra's sapphire eyes before sighing.

"I'm being followed by traitors," Mali whispered back glancing at Link.

"But it's nothing I can't handle. I don't want Link to know because it could put all Hylians in danger if he were to do something rash. Please don't tell him," Mali pleaded.

Tetra nodded in agreement and then left her alone. Mali seemed to watch the water.

'_Stay away Savire _' Mali prayed, still watching the swimmers below with her water adapted eyes.

Soon they made it to the Tower of Gods and they settled in Tetra's cozy study to figure out what Mali had figured out that morning.

"Ok, lets recap," Tetra said, looking at Mali scribbles and then realized she couldn't read them because Mali had written in old Hyrulian runes. She blushed shyly as she took the parchment back.

"Well, before I retell what we know, I have deciphered the Silver Triforce Chart. It gives a location close to what Link has on his Sea Chart as East Triangle Island," Mali said, looking back up.

"That makes sense, after all it is a Triforce Triangle that we are looking for," Link reasoned. Tetra and Aryll nodded in agreement.

"Secondly…" suddenly Mali was cut off as Nevina rushed into the room.

"Milady, you must come and see this, it's huge!" Nevina said, pulling Mali from the room. Tetra and Link were momentarily shocked before following in pursuit, with Aryll racing after them.

Nevina lead them up a few staircases into the small library, but there was a large doorway that was where the one bookcase used to be.

"What happened?" Tetra demanded.

"Go inside," Nevina said, pushing Mali through the door. Mali stumbled slightly into the room with two-lit torch illuminating a figure on a large tapestry.

Mali's eyes widened as she saw the Hero of Time carefully depicted on the tapestry. The reactions were very similar as the came to stand beside Mali.

"It's the Hero of Time, and look," Nevina said as she lit a boko stick on fire and carefully lit the oils in the trough and thus lighting the whole tapestry up.

"Mali do you know what this all means?" Aryll asked, walking up to the tapestry to take a closer look.

"It's the real story, not the legends passed down through the generations of people until it became a legend and it starts here in the desert, where the female tribe known as the Gerudo live," Mali said pointing to a part of the tapestry where the sands of the Haunted Wasteland blew through the fortress of the Gerudo. There a single gave birth to a baby boy.

The tapestry was really a wonderful work of art. It was designed to give a history lesson using pictures instead of runes. However, the story seemed to start where the dark man was born.

"Wait, you said female tribe?" Tetra questioned, looking at the tapestry and only seeing red head female Gerudo except for the one boy.

"Yes, the Gerudo, of which I have some blood of, were a tribe of females. Only a male Gerudo would be born every one hundred years. You see these two twins here?" Mali asked, pointing to the tapestry where images of two witches of fire and ice could be seen, "These two hags, Koume and Kotake are half the reason that Ganondorf went bad. He wanted to find out more about the Triforce when he later heard the stories, thus leading to his obsession," Mali said pointing out each event on the tapestry.

"What are the Hylians doing here?" Aryll asked, pointing slightly to the right of Mali.

"They are sealing the gates to the Sacred Realm. The only location left is through the Temple of Time," Mali said, pointing to the magnificently stitched temple further down the tapestry.

"And to get to the Triforce, one would have to collect three Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time," Mali said showing them what the spiritual stones were at one time. Tetra was walking around the room looking for something specific.

"Look Mali, the tapestry just cuts off," Tetra said. Mali came to inspect it.

"Hmm, that is odd, it cut off just before Ganondorf escaped the Dark Realm," Mali frowned.

"Maybe whoever was in charge of making the tapestry was killed by Ganondorf long ago," Link said, looking at the tapestry.

"No Link, it wasn't that long ago, I keep telling you, have you ever wondered what happened to your parents!" Mali retorted annoyed.

"Yes but what does that have to do with this tapestry and what we are trying to figure out," Link asked confused and a little bit angry.

Mali was starting to vent her frustration out and that meant her temper came through.

"Just go, get your Triforce from the island, go!" Mali said, thoroughly ticked off at their stupidity. It was depicted right in front of them. Link's eyes flashed angrily as he left the room, obeying the furious red head. Tetra and Aryll decided that maybe they should leave Mali alone for a bit so they followed Link silently.

"Link, I'm coming with you," Aryll said jumping in the boat. Link nodded, his eyes were still mad. Aryll slipped up and as far away from Link as she could. They soon set sail to the northeast and Tetra waving goodbye.

* * *

Nevina and Mali were still in the tapestry room where Nevina was comforting Mali for she was crying.

"Mali, it's alright, you're just frustrated," Nevina soothed. Tetra stalked back into the room livid.

"Mali! Get up right now!" Tetra shouted angrily. Mali stopped crying and her hair fell across her face as she slowly stood on her feet. Nevina saw what was going to happen.

"Miss Tetra, please, just leave her alone!" Nevina shouted.

"No, let her yell, she's been wanting to since she has first seen me," Mali said quietly, calmly.

"Damn rights I have. Stay away from Link! He is mine!" Tetra practically yelled.

"In case you haven't noticed, Link comes to me not me to him," Mali shouted angrily, her emerald eyes danced with anger. Tetra had never been shouted at. Nobody ever had had the guts to do it. Tetra was about to retort when the look in Mali's eyes stopped her dead in her tracks. They were daring her to make a comment.

"Don't meddle with something you know nothing about Tetra, I don't want Link's affection. I can't make that mistake again," Mali hissed. Her eyes were pained as she remembered a horrible time in her life.

Tetra felt her anger ebb away and she found herself becoming curious about what had happened to Mali. Mali had turned away to look angrily at the tapestry at her people.

"What happened?" Tetra asked quietly. Mali looked at Tetra sadly and proceeded to tell her…

* * *

Link and Aryll were still sailing to the northeast towards the Eastern Triangle Island. Aryll could tell that Link was still very ticked off. The way he held himself when he was pissed off was a good indication.

"Um, Link are you alright?" Aryll asked carefully, studying her older brother.

"I don't understand her!" Link fumed. Aryll turned her blue eyes on her brother with a frown.

"You don't know anything about her Link, she is strange and she comes from a land that doesn't exist anymore. You know nothing about past relationships or anything, and besides she has said that what happened didn't happen that long ago. She's said it a couple of times," Aryll pointed out, causing her brother to take a deep breath.

"That's not what I'm mad about Aryll. She knows what happened to mom and dad. They can't have died in an accident on seas, they wouldn't have been sailors like the rest of the people on Outset Isle," Link said irritated.

"Are you afraid of what she knows?" Aryll asked quietly. Link nodded slightly.

"Well don't be, we are here to discover what she knows and we have to trust her before she will share it," Aryll said, her eyes shining with excitement. Link frowned at her. He knew she was right, but the way she had yelled struck a nerve and Link was still very annoyed.

"Aren't you afraid to find out what happened down there?" Link asked thoughtfully. Aryll shook her head.

"Whatever and whenever Mom and Dad disappeared, it doesn't matter anymore cause I'm positive they aren't alive. They would have come looking for us big bro. However it would be nice to know how they died," Aryll said thoughtfully.

Link was surprised by her answer; he never thought that Aryll would have ever thought of something like that.

Link looked to the distance and saw the approaching island and he started to furl his sail. Soon they approached the co-ordinates that Mali had marked on the map. Carefully Link used his compass and came across the sound of sunken treasure.

He brought the chest up with the grappling hook and found that it had ancient writing and a peculiar lock on it. It had a symbol on it that was similar to one on the box.

Link sighed and took out the Wind Waker, knowing that only Mali would be able to unlock the new mystery behind the riddle. He conducted the Wind's Requiem and switched the wind to blow to the southwest.

Aryll looked at the box for a moment and at the hexagonal pattern on it. She frowned as she wondered where she had seen it before. She knew it was on the tapestry, but who was giving it to the Hero of Time.

"Link, I think this is a symbol of one of the sages. Mali said there were seven sages but only six sages' symbols on the box right?" Aryll asked, concentrating on the symbol.

"Yes, she did say that, but she couldn't figure out why, maybe the answer is still in that tapestry somewhere," Link said thoughtfully.

"I should get her something, I really didn't mean to make her angry," Link thought, but actually said out loud. Aryll shook her head at the suggestion.

"I don't think she would appreciate that Link. She doesn't seem to want your affection, that might be the worst thing you could do," Aryll said. Link looked confused, but decided not to press the matter.

* * *

"Oh Mali, I wish you had told me sooner," Tetra said, her face rather pale as Mali finished her story. Mali gave her a small smile,

"It's all right Tetra, but enough about me, what about you," Mali said, curious about Tetra's background as well.

"Well, when I was young I first thought that my mother had just passed away and I was raised with her most loyal of servants. The pirates that love me to death," Tetra said, making a small face at Nudge's back. He was standing just outside of the room.

Nevina was sitting quietly on the other side of Tetra and was staring at the tapestry in front of them. The dim light in the warm room and the sound of Tetra's voice seemed to lull her to sleep as she was staring at the Hero of Time.

_She slowly drifted into dreamland and found herself staring at a golden medallion hung around the neck of an ancient sage. His hair was white and his eyes old and wise. She found herself drawn to him as though he was family to her._

"_Nevina, welcome to the Sage Sanctuary, formally known as the Chamber of Sages. All sages come here at one point or another," he said kindly. Nevina's deep-sea blue eyes were confused as she pondered that information._

"_That means that I'm a sage then," Nevina whispered, " I'm one of the ones they are looking for!"_

"_That's right, now that you know that you are the Sage of Light, you must return to the world of Hyrule. The Light Medallion is part of you, create it and make it a part of him," the ancient Sage of Light said, fading away into the white light surrounding them… _

Nevina jerked awake as Link and Aryll came back into the room with whoops and laughter. She felt dazed and unstable.

"You found it!" Tetra whooped. Doing a little dance of excitement. Mali laughed as the two celebrated.

"Yeah, but there is more. There is writing on this chest and a keyhole that we don't have the key for," Link said with a slight bit of frustration. Mali looked at the symbol for the key that was a simple hexagonal shape with a pattern on it.

"Hmm, I've seen that pattern on the tapestry. It's over here by the picture of the Temple of Time," Mali said walking over to the tapestry to look at it a little more closely. Nevina followed curiously and nearly gasped at what she saw. It was the sage that had spoken to her!

"That is Rauru, the Sage of Light. He is actually one of the Sages that lived through several generations of sages. He helped build the Temple of Time, which was one of the gateways to the Sacred Realm," Mali said.

"Mali, how do you know all of that from just looking at the tapestry?" Link asked, coming up behind her to look at it too.

"Zola school," Mali muttered, her eyes going dark. Link noticed the dangerous look and backed off. It seemed to him anything having to do with her past was a touchy subject.

"Ok that's great, but how does it help us find the new sage, or heir of the Light Sage?" Tetra asked, intervening. Mali shrugged, looking back at the tapestry. She walked alongside it until she came across the Sage of Light and the other sages altogether at the birth of one of the new Princess of Hyrule. She saw a young man behind the Sage of Light, who looked just as wise as his father.

"Um, Mali, I have something to tell you," Nevina said, looking at the baby that was in the young man's arms.

**

* * *

Hey everyone, sorry for the wait. This chapter was so hard for me to write for some reason. Anyway only one person decided to take up my challenge from the last chapter. Congratulations to Ultmate Lifeform for getting it almost right. The rest of you can still try.**

**Ultmate Lifeform- **Sorry for the last slow update. I was on a trip to Vancouver.

**Dragon Sword Master- **Oh come on you can't be that bad at figuring out riddles! Thank you for the review knight :D

**Alchimistangel- **Thank you for the review, you're awesome!

**Zane- **Glad you like it so far and thank you for the review, you're awesome!

**Sparkly Faerie- **lol lazy bones, and yes I did leave it at a puzzle, sometimes I confuse myself with it XD

**Living Arrow-** I know I'm mean to Link! Thank you for the review

**Hopeless Maiden- **Long time no see, thank you for the review.

**Emeralddestiny- **You lazy chick, get-moving lol. Talk to you soon and thank you for the _late_ review :P


	6. Light and Fire

Light and Fire

Far from the Tower of Gods, deep under the surface of the Great Sea, the Zola leader paced back and forth on the ledge.

"What the hell is she doing! Hanging around with a stuck up Hylian! Our sworn enemy! I'm the King of the Zola and she is supposed to be here! Didn't her stupid teacher teach her anything about them treacherous snakes!" the powerful male Zola said, walking around on his throne in his underwater palace.

"Um, Lord Savire. Our spy groups have reported that the Hylian boy and his little sister were seen by the Eastern Triangle Island. They pulled something up from the bottom and then went it full speed back to the Tower of Gods," the messenger saluted.

"Thank you, now what to do with that tidbit of information," Savire wondered turning it over in his conniving mind. Suddenly he smirked savagely as he came up with the perfect plan…

* * *

Mali looked at Nevina oddly, taking in the girl's pale face. Nevina was staring at the particular figure on the tapestry.

"Mali, that man right there is the son of the Sage of Light, Rauru. That son is my father which means I'm the new Sage of Light," Nevina said, her voice calm but she was still pale.

Mali looked as though she wasn't that surprised; she just gazed at the tapestry in wonderment.

"I wonder how many secrets are actually woven in the ancient threads of this tapestry," Mali wondered.

"If Nevina is the Sage of Light, then what is the _power of old?_" Link asked, looking at Nevina expectantly. Her face reddened slightly as she tried to explain, but Mali intervened.

"Link, the power of the sages isn't given freely. It must be earned," Mali said rather curtly, "The goddesses often have given a sage a task to complete, especially if they are going to be initiated into sage hood. However Nevina might not have such a task, the Sage of Light resided in the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm, a place not walked on by mere mortals," Mali said, glancing back at the tapestry.

Nevina nodded and gently raised her arms. A symbol of light appeared on her forehead as the power of the Sage of Light came forth. The Medallion of Light appeared and floated in front of Mali. Nevina stared back at Mali with golden eyes.

"The power of a sage resides in the medallions, it is a gift to those who wield it," Nevina said and the medallion dropped into Mali's hands. Mali's eyes widened as she held the power of a sage in her hands.

"Nevina, surely the power goes to the hero?" Mali asked tentatively, glancing curiously at Link. Nevina shook her head slightly but hesitantly.

"It would have, however your linage has decided that although the Hero of Winds is indeed a descendant of the Hero of Time, he doesn't receive the power unless he becomes worthy of it. After all the box is one of your family heirlooms and so it was meant for you to open," Nevina said, gazing at the box in Link's hands.

Link looked shocked, he was a descendant of the Hero of Time? Mali slowly walked towards Link and placed the medallion in the keyhole of the chest that Link had just brought back.

There was a bright flash of golden light and the lid of the chest opened. The medallion fell back to the floor with a metallic ring on the stones.

Mali reached into the chest and extracted the silver Triforce shard and another piece of parchment. She also picked up the medallion from the floor where it had fallen. She carefully inspected the Triforce piece and gently placed it in Link's hand.

"I don't think it will fit in the box until the other half of it is found. This parchment is another location for a silver Triforce shard. It also says ignifera," Mali said, frowning slightly. The word sounded familiar to her, but it wasn't a Hylian word.

It was a distinctive word of one of the six races of Hyrule. She knew it wasn't Zoran for she was of Zoran descent. Kokiri, Gorons, Gerudo and the Sheikah all had had their own individual language but they all knew Hylian. So she wondered which race this ancient word belonged to.

Nevina had lost the glow of the Light Sage and was standing nearby watching with interest. The other sages were still a mystery even to her, but she knew they would figure out the whole riddle.

_The silver pieces of Gold_

_The Power of Sages old_

_The Keys of Time's Realm_

_The Melody of Helm_

_The Treasure of Harkinian_

But Nevina had to wonder, what about the other sages. They wouldn't have the privilege to see the tapestry and hear the words of the ancient sages so how would they know. Or did they already?

"Well, that was certainly a fantastic light show," Tetra spoke up, her sarcastic voice breaking though the solemn atmosphere. Mali and Link both blinked for a moment before Mali cracked a smile and Link began to chuckle.

"I'm sure we will see more light shows," Mali said with mock severity. That got everyone laughing, lightening the mood considerably. Nevina smiled while watching her friends laugh.

Mali was still laughing as she placed the Light Medallion in the carved out space on the lid for it. It glowed softly and so did the single Triforce piece in the lid.

Nevina felt word spring to her lips unbidden by any thought.

"_A merchants pack I hold, the power of a sage old I know,_" Nevina said softly. It wasn't heard over the noise of their laughter and Nevina forgot it as soon as the thought had come.

"Miss Tetra! There has been an unknown specimen sighted to the north of the tower!" a guard from the lookout tower shouted. Mali's head snapped up and she ran to the top of the tower surprising the party.

Link followed with a confused gaze. He wondered what was going on. Mali made it up and snatched the telescope out of the hands of an astonished Zuko.

"Savire," Mali muttered angrily. Her eyes held a passionate hatred for the being that was now swimming deep down under the water.

"Who?" Link asked coming up beside her and looking down. Tetra was there shortly.

"Savire, the tyrant leader of the Zola tribe," Mali said bitterly, hurt and anger behind her voice.

"What does he want?" Link asked, his voice growing icy and dangerous.

"Me," Mali whispered, watching as the swimming figure swam into the darkness beyond the light of the sun.

"Why you?" Link asked, feelings of protection overwhelming his anger.

"He is supposed to be my husband," Mali said calmly. Link's eyes widened as he realised why she had tensed when he had touched her. She was already married!

"I'm so sorry Mali…" Link said but was interrupted by her.

"Don't be, I never told you about him and I didn't want to. He is abusive," Mali said pulling her sleeve up to show him the bruises made from his teeth.

"So you ran?" Link asked concerned. Mali shook her head.

"No, something came up and I was left behind." Link decided not to push anymore.

"Is he dangerous?" Link asked, glancing back down into the ocean. Mali nodded quietly.

"My advice that any further adventuring will be done on Tetra's large boat. The Zola warriors are few, but there are enough of them to capsize your little boat," Mali suggested. Link nodded in agreement and together they descended back down to the tapestry room where the others were waiting quietly.

"It would seem that time is starting to run short to solve our riddle. We have to get going. Mali, you said that the next silver Triforce chart leads us where?" Link asked.

"It leads to a region not far from North Triangle Island. Also the word ignafera was depicted on the chart, I believe it stands for a Goron word, but I don't speak the Goron native language," Mali said with a frown.

"Ok, we are all going on. Everyone of us," Link said, pointedly looking at Nevina. Nevina was about to refuse but then thought better of it. Tetra nodded, detecting the danger of the situation that had suddenly come to be.

"We are going to get the next chest, it is our only clue right now, other than ignafera, but until I find a Goron I have no idea what it means," Mali said lightly. Link chuckled quietly and they all boarded Tetra's ship with her regiment of pirates behind her.

Mali found her way up into the crows nest and was carefully keeping an eye out for the tyrant leader…

* * *

Savire couldn't believe it! They were using a boat that the tribe couldn't capsize!

"Hmm, well done my flower, well done," Savire muttered. He wanted his flower back safely but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what they were looking for.

All of his spies couldn't tell him what was in the chests that were pulled from the sea. He was also trying to figure out what had possessed Mali to leave him. He loved her.

"Lord Savire, do you want us to follow the Hylians and Mali?" the Zola asked.

"No, don't waste your energy. We will get her back soon enough, you've earned a rest," Savire said with an exasperated sigh.

* * *

Soon the co-ordinates for the Northern Triangle Isle brought the island into view. Link used his grappling hook to bring up the latest chest and she watched as Aryll and Tetra helped heave it up the side of the boat.

Link was about to open it when he saw the words on the chest and another circular symbol. He banged his fists down on the lid in frustration.

"Why can't it be easy for a change!" Link demanded. Suddenly Link felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Mali looking at him calmly.

"Those words will be easy for you to solve, I'm sure you've come across them before. The words on the chest say _A merchants pack I hold, the power of a sage old I know,_" Mali said, reciting the text on the lid of the treasure chest.

Link blinked for a moment before realizing what it was talking about.

"The merchant sailors on Bomb Island, Mother and Child Isles and Greatfish Island," Link said, confusion on his face.

"But why would the chest send us to them, they are just like the rest of the Hylians," Link said, confused.

"I guess they are supposed to know the answer, the closest one is on Mother and Child Isles. I guess that is where we are supposed to go next," Mali said, glancing at the island for a moment. She could see the outline of the Goddess Din holding her pearl.

"I tried to retrieve the pearl when I brought up the chest by East Triangle Island, I couldn't move it," Link said quietly. Mali nodded and then recited the riddle.

"_The silver pieces of Gold,_

_The Power of Sages old,_

_The Key's of Time's Realm,_

_The melody of Helm_

_The Treasure of Harkinian,_

Maybe the pearls will become accessible to us after we collect all of the keys before them," Mali suggested. Link nodded in agreement.

The _Golden Spirit_ continued northwest toward the Mother and Child Isles. A ruckus on the deck brought Link and Mali's eyes down to see what was going on right below them. Tetra was having a heated argument with Nudge and Senza.

"But Miss Tetra, what is the point of going to the Mother and Child Isles. Can't we at least stop at Windfall, we haven't been in the company of the good folk there for such a long time," Senza said, trying to convince Tetra to stop at Windfall, but he didn't look like he was doing a great job of it since Tetra was frowning deeply and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Do I look like I need the company of the village folk right now?" she said, her anger very noticeably ready to be released in a fury at Senza who took a step back not liking the sudden fire in her eyes.

Link pulled Mali away indicating that it was safer if they weren't caught listening in on the argument. He knew from experience where that would take a person.

"We are on a mission here! Hello!" Tetra retorted, hands out ready to strangle one of them. Senza backed down slightly but Nudge decided to try and sway Tetra.

"But Miss Tetra, we are running low on fresh water, we won't make it to wherever we are going," Nudge stated, pointing to the lone barrel. Tetra ran a hand down her face in frustration and then she lashed out.

"And how do you know we are going far?" Tetra asked in barely contained fury. Nudge visibly swallowed before venturing to answer his captain.

"We don't know Miss Tetra, but we do know that ifwe head out to open seas without water we won't make it back alive," Nudge said nervously. Tetra's eyes flashed dangerously.

"We are going to Mother and Child Isles, besides with Link on board we can get to many of the islands in a blink of an eye. If we do end up sailing somewhere that requires a long journey we will stock up then. Now get back to your duties," Tetra hissed, turning away from them angrily.

"I think we had better stay up here for a while," Link said to Mali watching Tetra stomp off to her cabin.

"I agree," Mali said, glancing back at the water for a moment. Link stood beside her watching the landmarks and soon the familiar outline of the Mother and Child Islands were visible. It was a matter of about twenty minutes before they were as close as they could get to the island without getting stuck on a reef.

"Link, you and Mali go ahead, we will wait for you here on the ship. It shouldn't take you long to find what you need," Tetra said grumpily. Nevina and Aryll decided that it would be wise to listen to Tetra. After all she still wasn't in a very good mood. They nodded and dove overboard.

Mali and Link swam quickly knowing that if Savire's spies were around they would be very vulnerable. Mali was the first one onto the island and she squeezed the water out of her hair and her shirt. Link also was wringing water out of his clothes. Link took her to see the Merchant on the top of the Child Island.

"Ah, so the little sailor has finally come to visit me. Do you have anything to trade with me?" The merchant asked cheerfully. Link chuckled good-naturedly and shook the hand of the merchant, noting the different texture of his hand for the first time.

"No unfortunately, but I do bring with me a riddle. Mali here will explain what we have found and how it concerns you," Link said, introducing the red head.

"Link speaks the truth. We have found a box that concerns the power of a sage old. We were wondering if you knew whom this sage might be and where to find them," Mali said, showing him the symbol on the box. The merchant had an unreadable expression due to the hat covering his head.

"Hmph, that is the symbol of the Sage of Fire. You will find him on Ignafera Island. That is the homeland of the Gorons; you will find it northeast of Overlook Island," he said gruffly. Mali glanced at him curiously.

"Is it supposed to be unknown?" Mali asked, looking at him knowingly. He nodded.

"Ignafera is a Goron word, do you know what it means?" Mali asked grinning mischievously at him. Link sensed that Mali knew something that he didn't.

"It means fire, and why are you so curious about me?" He asked suspiciously.

"You are a Goron yourself," Mali shrugged. He looked speechless for a moment before answering.

"Yes, I suppose I am a Goron. How on earth did you figure it out though?" He asked.

"I've seen your type before. I'm a Zola of the old world, and I remember. However we would like to thank you for your assistance but we must get going," Mali said, turning around and jumping back into the water and she began swimming for the ship.

"Yes thank you. Talk to you again and we will tell the Sage of Fire that you and your brethren are well," Link said before following Mali to the ship.

Tetra's crew threw them lines and then hauled them aboard. Mali quickly told Tetra what they had found out.

"Well, I guess we will be stopping at Windfall. Link could you get us there fast?" Tetra asked. Link nodded and pulled out the Wind Waker from his pack. He conducted the Ballad of Gales and the cyclone came and took them to the skies and dropped them just south of Windfall Island.

"Ok crew, we are staying the night at the Windfall Café so you had better be on your best behaviour," Tetra shouted as her regiment of pirates ran to the side of the boat and jumped overboard and were swimming fast for shore. Tetra and Link were shaking their heads at the pirates as they disappeared onto the island.

Mali was glancing at the island with a slight bit of apprehension. She didn't want to be alone with anybody.

"Alright, lets go Link said, grabbing Tetra and Mali's hands. They both jumped down to the docks and went to the Café leaving those that decided to stay on the boat for the time being. Tetra left Link and Mali to find her rambunctious crew.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened that you are afraid to be alone with me?" Link asked quietly. Mali was surprised that he had brought it up so quickly. They had found a nice shady bench to sit on.

"Well, um, Savire abused me and I guess I have lost my trust in all men," Mali said just as quietly.

"What kind of abuse?" Link asked, knowing deep down exactly what kind of abuse she had been put through.

"Verbal, sexual, you name it and I've probably endured it," Mali said, her voice growing even more quite and thoughtful.

"I would never do that to you Mali. You are too special," Link said huskily. Mali glanced at him before turning away.

"I appreciate that Link, but I don't think I'll ever be ready to get close to another man again. I'm sorry," Mali said, getting up and going into her and Nevina's room at the café.

Link sighed deeply before going into the café to order a drink. He couldn't figure her out. What had changed, she was still the girl that was flirting with him when she had first appeared on Outset Island, what happened to that carefree girl?

Mali was relieved to see that Nevina wasn't around and she sat on the edge of her bed. Her thoughts were confused and jumbled. She kept seeing betrayal and lies. She didn't really know trust and love. She had been a tool for the Lord of the Zolas and nothing more. And now he was hunting her down. She had no idea which way to turn. To run into the safety of Link's arms or to surrender herself to keep Link and all of her new friends out of danger? With a sigh she fell into a restless slumber.

"_We are coming for you Mali,_"

**

* * *

Another chapter done yay!**

**Alchemistangel- Thank you for the review.**

**Ultmate Lifeform – Hope you follow now lol. This chapter is for you.**

**Living Arrow – Thanks Arrow for the review!**

**Sparkly Faerie – Thanks so much, talk with you soon. I also added the riddle twice for you ;p**

**Dragon Sword Master – Hey thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.**

**Emeralddestiny – Thanks Emerald, you save my life all the time with this story writing business! Great to have ya back**

**Michael L – Thanks for the review buddy.**

**Thanks to the rest of the readers, would appreciate a review though! Thanks! **

**Luv Kariah**


	7. Ignifera Island

Ignifera Island

"Get those water barrels aboard now! We are leaving in five minutes," Tetra's shouted. It woke Mali from her restless dreams and she was glad that she had been saved from them. She had dreamt of her mother and how she had told her the stories of the olden days.

"Mali, get up we are leaving in five minutes," Nevina said, coming into the room in a hurry. Mali groaned as she got up on wobbly legs. She needed to go for a swim badly and now she didn't have time.

"Mali, are you alright?" Nevina asked, coming over to look at the girl's eyes. They were sunken in almost like she was dehydrated.

"I need the sea, it keeps me alive," Mali managed to gasp out through her pain. Nevina nodded and she quickly left the room. Mali had managed to get dressed, but she was feeling the call of the sea. The only problem was she was too weak to get there anymore.

Nevina returned with Link in tow.

"Link, she needs the sea water, you must take her there quickly, she is still adapting to life on land," Nevina said quickly. Link nodded as if this was no new news to him, which it wasn't. He quickly picked up the thin creature of the sea and carefully carried her out to the shallow water by the bay.

"Come on Mali, wake up, you need to swim," Link said, carefully wetting her face. Link was relieved to see her emerald eyes slowly open. He hoped that she wouldn't swim away like the first morning he had found out about her flaw. He carefully watched her eyes for signs of recognition.

"Matep, sei nei lain debako," Mali uttered quietly. Link looked at her curiously, wondering what that meant. He knew it was in ancient Hyrulian but he didn't know what it meant. Nevina however, had followed them down and recognized the words.

"Did you understand that Nevina?" Link asked still pouring water gently across her cheeks, "As a newly awakened sage, I presume that you will know the old language, no?"

"Yes Link, I caught what she said, she said Mother, I don't understand," Nevina said with a frown.

"I wish we knew more about Mali's past, she is so mysterious," Link murmured, noting Mali's eyes were growing clearer and he knew that she would soon wake up in panic.

Suddenly Link felt her soft hand on the side of his face and he saw recognition in her eyes.

"Hero… of Time?" She asked, confusion settling in her eyes. Link wasn't sure what to say but decided the truth would be the best.

"No Mali, I'm the Hero of Winds, um a descendant from the Hero of Time," Link ventured gently.

"You look an awful lot like the Hero of Time," Mali sighed, gently running a hand across his face, learning the features. Link glanced at Nevina who shrugged lightly.

"Remember Link, Tetra is leaving in two minutes," Nevina reminded, turning around to leave them for a moment. Link watched Nevina suspiciously, it seemed she knew something.

He looked back down at Mali and noticed her curiosity. Link wanted to kiss her that moment, but he knew it would scare her, especially after the events of her little known past. Link gently shook her and she gasped as her body was almost completely submerged in the cool seawater.

"Come on Mali, we have to get going, it's time to wake up," Link said firmly suddenly submerging her completely underwater, and then he quickly brought her back up. She spluttered angrily.

"Link! I was having a good dream!" Mali shouted angrily. Link raised a blond eyebrow mockingly.

"Hmm, do you recall that dream?" Link asked coyly. Mali suddenly blushed as she remembered placing her hands on Link's face and just as suddenly as she blushed she paled. It had really happened, it wasn't a dream!

Link smirked as she started chasing him angrily.

"Link, you bastard, get your ass over here!" Mali shouted angrily, her usually calm demeanour replaced by the Gerudo fighting spirit that was in her blood. Which was fight now and ask questions later.

Link knew that time was running short to get aboard the ship, so he ran in that direction with Mali close behind him. As soon as he jumped onto the ship he turned around and caught Mali in midair. She squeaked in surprise before she began shouting.

"Let me go Link! That way I can kick your arrogant ass!" Mali yelled. Link held her tight and looked her boldly in the eye and she stopped struggling. Her eyes widened slightly as Link leaned closer to her.

"Are you sure you want to kick my arrogant ass?" Link whispered coyly earning a blushing glare from Mali.

"You're a bastard, did you know?" Mali asked sweetly, leaning closer too. Link noticed that she was being fairly bold, but he wasn't sure if he should go for it or not. He gazed into her eyes for a moment, and found something that bothered him; it was something old and wise, something he had never seen in her eyes before.

"You know, the main deck isn't for making out," Tetra called from the Quarter Deck, somewhat peeved. Mali jumped slightly and pulled back quickly. Link let her go and glared at Tetra from the Main Deck.

Mali felt a slight blush run its way along her neck and in order to hide it she took to the rigging and climbed her way to the crow's nest to go and think.

'_What on earth just happened, I didn't even flinch away from him. I played along right till the end without even thinking about it,_' she mused for a moment.

"Link, get us as far as Dragon Roost Island!" Tetra shouted from the Quarter Deck. Link nodded and pulled the Wind Waker from his tunic. He carefully conducted the Ballad of Gales and soon everyone was holding onto anything that was solid.

The Home of the Ritos was soon visible and without so much as a hesitation Link conducted a new song, The Requiem of Wind. Soon they sped away from Dragon Roost Island and Mali could see Overlook Island coming into view to the northeast. Link's voice floated up to Mali in the crow's nest as he was telling Aryll one of his adventures.

"… and so there was this huge Dark Nut that decided to take a swipe at me and so I dodged first to the left and then to the right and then you know what I did?" Link asked filling Aryll with suspense.

"What?" Aryll asked fearfully. Link grinned and then pulled a bottle of water from his pack.

"I pulled a water bottle from my pack and said to that might Dark Nut, 'Good day mate, are ye thirsty?' Well he gave me a look of complete stupidity and I merely drank from the bottle and he was so dumbfounded that it gave me the chance to swing my sword and his head rolled with the eyes of surprise and still looked dumbfounded," Link chuckled lightly. Aryll clapped enthusiastically which surprised Mali. All in all it was a rather gory story. Aryll caught sight of Overlook Island, which had come right into view.

"What kind of adventure did you have on that island?" Aryll asked. Link looked at it for a moment before recalling what had actually gone down there.

"That was another one of the savage grottos. I almost didn't make it out of that one alive with the Triforce Chart," Link said gravely, looking morbidly at the island for a couple of moments before turning away and looking out on the open sea.

"I'm sorry Link, but I'm glad you were able to defeat whatever you encountered in there. Otherwise I would have lost you," Aryll said softly, hugging Link tightly.

"So am I Aryll," Link said, he caught a glimpse of red hair as Mali turned away from them and was looking out on the horizon. Link suddenly heard Mali shout.

"LAND HO! Off the port side!" Mali's clear voice rang throughout the ship. Everyone below cheered in excitement. Link grinned and then climbed up to stand with Mali in the crow's nest.

The ship grew quiet as they drew close to the island. It was silent and all the crew could hear was the sound of the waves crashing against the mountain. They circled the Mountain till they found the small port that was on the northwest side of the Island.

There was a single raft that was tied to the very small dock. Link and Mali climbed down from the crow's nest and went to talk to Tetra.

"Tetra, we will have to take the _Red Lion_ to the dock. This ship is too big," Link said, confronting Tetra. She nodded in agreement and then they lowered the _Red Lion_ down with Tetra, Link, Aryll, Mali, and Nevina in the boat. The small riddle box and the chest with the need of a key were also in the boat. Link carefully guided the boat up to the dock and they carefully got out onto the dock.

Mali hesitantly led the way into the cavern that was very dimly lit. The cavern itself was big and there were tunnels spanning off from the flat regular cavern that went to other levels above the main level. There were boulders that seemed to be haphazardly strewn across the room.

"Mali, I don't see any Gorons around here," Tetra said dangerously.

"Then lets look for them, maybe they are somewhere else in the cavern.

While they were arguing, Aryll decided to explore the cavern on her own. She found herself going down one of the tunnels and she continued to explore walking around the rocks that were in her way. Soon she found her way back into the cavern and she had yet to find a Goron.

Suddenly she tripped and her shoulder connected with a hard but moveable boulder. The small boulder let out a muffled shout of surprise and Aryll found herself staring into the black eyes of a very young Goron. The Goron gave a loud cry and suddenly Aryll found herself in the crushing grip of a fully-grown male Goron.

Link had heard Aryll's scream and he drew his sword to attack whatever had his little sister, but then he saw the creature that was holding her. He was huge and had a tight grip on the girl.

"Eft le monc sli gor dal sonclue!" Came the deep harsh voice of the Goron. Mali frowned slightly as she heard the words of the Goron tongue.

"Uh, Mali, what did he say?" Link asked. Mali ignored Link for a moment and she put herself between Link and the Goron.

"Link, put your sword away now, ' _Please let my friend Aryll go, she didn't mean to hurt your young one. We have come to speak to the Sage of Fire, we need his assistance,' _Mali said in the ancient Hylian tongue that used to be universal to the races of Hyrule. The Goron looked at her surprised for a moment before answering.

'_You are a child of the old language, where do you come from?' _The Goron asked. Mali lowered her eyes as she told him.

'_I'm a descendent of the Zora, however there are two kinds of them now, the Rito tribes that live to the southwest of here are the ones that stayed loyal to the king and the ones that now live deep in the sea are the Zola, my people,' _Mali explained softly, not sure how this Goron would react. He frowned slightly, but appeared to harbour no hatred for the Zola.

'_Hmm, you mentioned the Sage of Fire?'_ The Goron asked. Mali nodded and then slowly approached the Goron carrying the riddle box and the chest that needed the next key.

'_This chest and map lead us to your island; the chest needs six medallions and silver Triforce shards. The map to the Northern Triangle Island gave us the clue to the name of your island, Ignifera. However it was this inscription on the treasure chest that gave us the next clue to finding you. A merchant's pack I hold, the power of Sage old I know, was pointing to one of your merchant sailors. He pointed us to you and we are here to solve this riddle,' _Mali explained, glancing at the others who were all interested, Nevina was telling them what was being said between Mali and the Goron.

The Goron looked at Nevina and knew for certain that she was the Sage of Light. He carefully set Aryll on the ground and then held out his hand to shake her tiny hand.

"I am sorry young Hylian," The Goron said, quickly picking up on their language. Aryll smiled softly and leapt back into the Goron's arms.

"That's alright, my name is Aryll," Aryll said hugging the Goron as well as she could.

"And my name is Dimitri," he said lightly, placing Aryll back down. The others came forward.

"My name is Link, I'm the Hero of Time's descendent and I'm also known as the Hero of Winds," Link said, shaking Dimitri's hand firmly.

"Ah, the descendent of King Link, good job my boy," Dimitri said proudly.

'GORO!' Dimitri called out and all the boulders that were haphazardly strewn throughout the cavern became the Gorons they had been searching for.

'_Brothers and sisters, we are in the presence of friends, come and meet them,'_ Dimitri called the Gorons over. They started greeting them in the old Hylian.

Soon, everyone knew everyone, and they all bowed to Tetra who was their queen. She flushed a bright red when they all hailed her, which amused the party greatly. Tetra never ever was embarrassed.

"Alright travelers from the Great Sea, lets see what I can do for you," Dimitri said taking them into his private room.

"You said you were looking for the Sage of Fire, well, I don't know if I would count. Darunia, my grandsire was a Sage of Fire, so I could very well be however…" Dimitri was cut off by Mali.

"However, the power of a sage is earned and not given freely," Mali said pointedly. Dimitri nodded and glanced at the one single tapestry on his wall.

"The medallion is located in the heart of this mountain. The fire surrounding it is truly hot and only those of great strength, wisdom and courage can walk through it unscathed," Dimitri added.

"The riddle box belongs to me and the Hero has helped me thus far. I say we go and you too Dimitri," Mali said pointedly. Tetra and Aryll were about to protest when Link stopped them.

"The Queen of the Great Sea and Hyrule needs to protect my sister and the Sage of Light from danger, we should be back soon. Tetra and Aryll decided not to argue, especially since Dimitri could put the matter to an end in a hurry.

"Follow me my friends," Dimitri said, gently pulling the tapestry aside to reveal a secret tunnel. The three friends found that the temperature almost immediately rose.

Soon, they saw a pedestal, surrounded by flames of a surreal type, hotter than the sun. Link and Mali looked at it for a moment before nodding at each other.

"It's been said the power of the Fire Sage held the true value of friendship. Darunia and the Hero of Time shared such a bond that still burns with that passion and loyalty of a friendship that will last forever," Mali recited from her schooling. Dimitri looked at her curiously.

"My grandmother was the teacher and she was one of Ruto's daughters," Mali confessed, "She was also a Sage and so she taught me, and only me for some reason," Mali frowned slightly.

"So what does that have to do with getting the medallion of fire?" Link asked.

"It means we have to have faith in each other and all of our friends, the flames will be our judges," Mali said, grasping Link's left hand in her right hand and Dimitri's right hand in her left hand.

She led them forward and they drew close to the flames. Link wasn't sure he wanted to do this and neither was Dimitri, they suddenly stopped her. She glared at them for a moment.

"Do you trust me?" She whispered. Link hesitated before nodding. Dimitri suddenly sensed that she knew what she was doing and he also nodded. She continued to walk forward with determination and faith.

The moment the flames touched her and her two friends, they danced lovingly around them, embracing them warmly. Mali smiled and they moved forward to the medallion in the centre of the dancing flames. Mali looked at Dimitri and nodded to him. He slowly reached out and grasped the medallion in his hands.

Together they left the warmth of the flames and proceeded back to the cavern silently. Once there they all hugged each other in celebration. Tetra, Aryll and Nevina greeted them all, and Nevina was holding the chest.

"Go ahead Dimitri, place the medallion in the keyhole," Mali said, shoving him forward. He carefully placed it in the keyhole and there was a brilliant flash of red light and then the lid opened.

Dimitri reached in and pulled out a silver Triforce shard and another map. The medallion fell out of the lid and onto the ground. Dimitri picked up the shard and the fire medallion and they found that it was an incomplete shard that the two that they had didn't match. Link shrugged and Dimitri placed the Fire Medallion in its place. There was another flash and it sat firmly in place with a certain gleam to it.

"Well done crew," Mali said proudly.

"Friends, Queen Zelda, would it be too much to ask, but can I come with you on the final leg of the riddle?" Dimitri asked shyly. Tetra nodded and he did a whoop of joy.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have another chest and sage to find!" Mali shouted. Everyone laughed and followed her to the _Red Lion_…

* * *

"Can't you keep a single Zola in sight for more than a few moments?" Savire growled at his spies. They trembled and waited for his wrath…

* * *

**Another chapter up! Sorry it took a little longer than normal but I had an extremely busy week and i wasn't home till late every night soo. Anyway hoped you all like it and drop off a review. **

**Note: I'm not updating unless i get at least 10 reviews. I did for one chapter and next to none the next. If you truly like this story then review! **

**As for my reviewers i think i have thanked you all personally except for alchemistangle. Thank you for the review. **


	8. Journey Home

Journey Home

Link and Mali were looking over the map that had accompanied the silver Triforce shard with Dimitri and Nevina also looking over their shoulder.

"This map is leading to the island of Jabun, in other words, Greatfish Island," Mali said, pointing to the map on Link's sea chart.

"Sounds like we should use the Ballad of Gales, Greatfish Island is one of the points where the tornado lets us down," Link said. Mali glanced at Dimitri, who seemed a little bit seasick. Mali grinned and then nodded.

"Lets go, who knows where the chest will send us. I see a little bit of a pattern here. Each chest we find needs a medallion to open it. There also seems to be six Triforce shards. We have four so that means that of the six sages there are only four medallions required to be found to open the chest," Mali explained, showing the evidence that she had come up with.

The chest that Link and Aryll had pulled up before they met Mali had no medallion key, however it had held one shard of the Triforce of Wisdom. Mali held the other half and the two pieces were reunited when they had met. The second shard was in the chest recovered from the Eastern Triangle Island and the key was the Light Medallion. Also in the chest was the map to Northern Triangle Island and the word Ignifera on the map. The third chest recovered from the Northern Triangle Island had the words, _a merchant's pack I hold, the power of sage old I know,_ inscribed on it.

Now they were looking at the map that had come from the third chest and they found some other curious ancient writing on it. Cimmerii.

"Cimmerii is a Sheikah word," Mali said, glancing at it for a moment.

"They were known as the shadow folk, and they moved around in the shadows, undetected by most people. One Sheikah was famous; she was Princess Zelda's caretaker, or nanny before the time of the Imprisoning War. The Sheikah have intense magical properties in their blood and have never bred out of their bloodlines. For bringing in new blood would weaken their magic. Impa, was the Sage of Shadow during the time of the Hero of Time," Mali said, giving them a brief history lesson.

"Do the Sheikah still exist?" Link asked, looking at the word again. Mali hesitated before answering.

"I think there might be a few left in the world, Link, but where they are I don't know. Like the Gorons, I would speculate that they have an island outside of the Great Sea boundaries," Mali said thoughtfully and then as an afterthought, " I think that the tornadoes taking us around the sea, it takes Savire off of our track for a while."

"That would be a good thing, I don't know how we would save you underwater," Link said ruefully. Mali smiled slightly before she turned away. Link pulled forth the Wind Waker and played the Ballad of Gales. Dimitri and the rest of the crewmembers weren't expecting the whirlwind and so it took them by surprise. As soon as they touched down, Tetra stomped her way down to the main deck to give Link a piece of her mind.

"What the hell was that! Would it cost you to give the rest of the ship a warning before you decide to call on a storm to carry us halfway across the sea!" Tetra exploded, furious. Link shrugged nonchalantly and looked back at Mali who seemed to be slightly amused by Tetra's reaction.

"I'm sorry Tetra, but we found another clue our little riddle quest and that brings us here to what used to be Greatfish Island," Mali said, pointing off the starboard side. Tetra seemed a momentary loss of words.

"Do you think you run my ship you monster! I say what happens and nobody does anything without my consent on this ship!" Tetra shouted. Mali crossed her arms and glared at Tetra.

"Since I'm the one who can read ancient Hyrulian, I'd say that I'm in charge, because I know where to find the treasure chests that we are looking for," Mali said coolly, her emerald eyes were freezing pools of green. Tetra flushed and stomped away from Mali, muttering something incoherently.

Link shrugged and flipped the _Red Lion_ over the side of the _Golden Spirit_ so they could go and retrieve the treasure that Link could see; it was clearly shining brilliantly off the southern tip of the decimated island. Mali decided that she needed to swim again and she dove overboard after scanning the water for underwater dangers.

However Mali had failed to see one of the Zola spies that had been sitting right below the ship. However Aryll saw him and she too jumped overboard with a shout of warning.

"Mali! In the water with you!" Aryll shouted, as she dove in to attack the creature.

"Aryll!" Link and Tetra shouted in unison. Link had already dived into the water to save his little sister.

Mali had heard the shout and she swiftly turned to face the Zola that had bowed slightly to her under the water.

"Lady Mali, welcome back to the sea, Savire has been waiting for you to return," the spy said curtly. Mali stared at him coolly, clearly starting to unnerve the spy with her emerald eyes.

"Tell Lord Savire that I will return home after and only after I finish finding what I'm looking for. Tell him that if he has any feelings for me that he must respect that," Mali said, pointing a finger to where she knew Savire's home waters were. The spy bowed again and began swimming to give his master the message from Mali.

Mali surfaced and appeared to be her Zola self, for she had needed the ability to breath to speak with the spy. Aryll was sitting on the _Red Lion_ breathing heavily as was Link.

"Are you guys alright?" Mali asked taking in the dripping girl and the worried looks from Tetra at the main deck railing.

"I think so," Aryll said quietly. Mali gave her a stern look.

"Aryll, never ever, ever jump into the great sea at a Zola, they won't hesitate to drown a Hylian like yourself. Hylians aren't safe with Zola in the waters. You must never do that again, do I make myself clear," Mali said severely. Aryll nodded meekly.

"There are very few Zola that don't share the hatred that my brethren do. They are the Zola who still feel that they are loyal to the king or in this case the queen," Mali said a little more gently. She looked at Link and he had an unreadable look in his eyes.

"He didn't attack you?" Link asked, slightly surprised and relieved.

"They aren't allowed to touch me, I'm like a royal and Savire would have their heads if they laid even a finger on me. Only he is allowed to touch me, however there is one other, and that is the Hero of Time's descendent," Mali said with a grin.

Link blinked and then his lopsided grin appeared on his face. He carefully pulled Mali into the boat and then he steered the boat to the chest's location. He carefully lowered the grappling hook down into the water and when he felt it hit the chest he pulled it up and into the boat.

"Just as I suspected, " Mali said, pointing to the writing on the lid and the keyhole for a medallion.

"What does it say?" Link asked, looking at the lid. Mali frowned slightly as she looked at the writing.

"I can't read that," Mali said, looking at the writing with surprise.

"What do you mean? Can't you make any of it out?" Link asked incredulously.

"I mean I can't read that. It's ancient Sheikah, and the only person I know that can read ancient Sheikah is my grandmother and Impa herself," Mali said thoughtfully.

"Does your grandmother still live?" Link asked quickly. Mali nodded sadly.

"She is very sick though. It will be very hard to find her and I will have to go alone. You won't be able to follow me down to the home of the Zola without drowning," Mali said, paling slightly at the thought of returning straight into Savire's clutches. She would be surprised if her grandmother was still alive with Savire on the throne.

"Let's discuss this on the ship," Link said, strapping the pulley lines for the crew to pull them up on deck. Once on deck they were bombarded with questions.

"What does it say?"  
"Where are we going treasure hunting next?"

Mali put an end to it by putting her hand into the air with the air of a royal, which surprised both Tetra and Link.

"We have come across a small problem. I can't read the ancient Sheikah words on the chest to find the Sage of Shadow. However I know someone who can, and I'm leaving in three minutes to go and find her. I must undertake this journey alone for none of you of the land can follow me into the realm of the water without dying in the process," Mali said, preparing herself to re-enter the world she had tried to escape from.

Link wanted to stop her, but deep down he sensed that she had something important to do and with grave eyes he watched her turn away from the silent group. They all seemed shocked at her noble behaviour and the look in her eye.

Mali came up to Link and she was holding two pieces of parchment. On it were the carefully copied out words of the Sheikah writing, the other held something for Link's eyes only.

"Link I need to borrow one of your bottles to get this to my grandmother safely," Suddenly she lowered her voice, "and this will help you find me," Mali said, giving him a new map. Link gave her a bottle and stared at the map.

Mali swiftly put the parchment in the bottle and without a backward glance she dove overboard.

"Mali! I don't understand," Link said looking up and finding her gone. He ran to the rail and he briefly saw the shadow of a fish in the water down below. Aryll hugged him briefly.

"Little sea flower, be careful," Link muttered to the shadow that had disappeared.

Mali marvelled at how much she missed the water now that she was swimming freely in it. She was able to pick out where the spies were and she stayed to the canyons that had once been the river for the water that flowed from Zora's Domain.

Carefully, she swam into the mountain range that had once been known as the Goron Mountains and were now below the surface of the new world.

'_I hope that the lost gates still exist; it's the fastest route back to the Domain without going through the spy territory. Ironically the Domain is more or less beside the mountain that now belong to the Rito…'_ Mali mused to keep herself occupied. She wondered where the Impa's descendents were hiding. Surely she wouldn't have strayed far from the Shadow Temple.

Soon Mali found herself in the runes of the old Goron City where the Gorons had once lived. In fact she wasn't far from the new Goron City. They were just a little farther east of her.

She carefully swam through the tunnels of darkness with her Zola crystal lighting the way. She saw things within there that she wished she didn't see, the scattered pieces of the old civilization. Old clay pots and Goron baby toys. Gorons gave their children rock figures to play with but they often disappeared because they became susceptible to a hungry young one.

The goddess had practically picked them up and placed them delicately on the islands above the cascading water while her family was trapped below in time.

Mali also looked at the forgotten history of the Gorons written on the walls of their beloved little city. She smiled slightly at the thought of their happiness and their parties. She knew a lot about the Gorons for she had been taught about how the other races of Hyrule had lived except for one, and that was the Sheikah. They were too mysterious and her grandmother wouldn't tell her very much about them.

Mali soon located the gate that would bring her close to the other gate that would take her to the domain. She hoped it would still work and with a quick spurt of nerve, she swam through the gate and found herself in what used to be the Kokiri Forest.

The forest had more or less been eaten away from the salt water that had poisoned the trees in a few short years. Most of Hyrule wasn't underwater until after the Hero of Winds had defeated Ganondorf. She soon found the underwater structure of the second gate that would bring her out by the old entrance to Zora's Domain.

* * *

Link was beginning to grow worried, Mali had been gone for four days and there was no sign of her. He was trying to figure out what the parchment she had given him meant. It was the location of something but it didn't specify what or where exactly. He frowned at it sitting on his small table in his bunk. What did it mean?

* * *

Mali entered the domain quietly and she blended in with the passing Zola. She could hear Savire shouting at his spies. Mali carefully manoeuvred into the passages that would take her to the rooms of the older Zola. She soon found her grandmother, weaker than ever. These rooms were at the top of a very remote island and so they were out of the water and rather vulnerable. She padded softly down the dirt passage into her grandmother's room.

She quietly opened the door and found her reading an old book that they had managed to save as the waters were crashing in.

"Nonna Shasa," Mali said gently, waking her Shasa from her nap. Shasa woke with a start and stared at Mali with identical green eyes.

"Mali?" Shasa exclaimed. Mali smiled softly and hugged her grandmother.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I missed you Nonna!" Mali said, chocked by how she had left her grandmother in the first place.

"I missed you too sweetheart, you must tell me about your adventures," Shasa said, for a brief moment looking like a teenager again. Mali complied.

"Oh Nonna, it has been great! I was able to tap into the powers to shift shape and I was able to walk with the new world people. I've met so many wonderful people. I met the two descendents of Queen Zelda and Link the Hero of Time. Link and Tetra are the new world descendents. It was Link who saved us from our prison down here," Mali said, relating the entire tale. She told Shasa about the treasure chest and the new sages and everything she could think of, except for the next clue. She was saving that for last.

"Well Mali, sounds like you had a pretty extensive adventure. Did you ever find out what was in the riddle box?" Shasa asked, watching Mali carefully.

"No Nonna, I haven't found out what is in the box. I need your help so that I can," Mali sighed, pulling the bottle out and shaking the parchment with the rubbing of the Sheikah text upon it.

"Throughout my quest, I've been able to read the ancient text until I came across this one. I believe it is in ancient Sheikah and I can't read that. I was hoping that you would be able to…" Mali trailed off looking at Shasa hopefully.

"Oh honey, I can't read Sheikah either, but I know a Sheikah that can. Go to Cimmerii Island. It isn't that far from here. In fact it is straight southwest of here. Surely you knew that that, did you?" Shasa asked, looking at her granddaughter. Mali was momentarily speechless.

"There has been a Sheikah Island to the southwest of here and you are only telling me this now?" Mali asked incredulously.

"We aren't supposed to know about it but in my younger days when the old world once lived, Impa vowed that she would never stray far from the Shadow Temple after what had happened with the Hero of Time. So when the goddesses lifted them up to the new world, they placed them onto an island that would be close to the Shadow Temple and it's horrible history. Due to the location of Zora's Domain and the Shadow Temple, our two islands ended up not far from each other," Shasa said, exhaustion starting to kick in.

Mali hugged her and left her a small note in her lap as the elderly Zora slipped into a peaceful slumber.

"I love you Nonna, and I promise to be careful," Mali whispered, picking up the bottle and turning to leave the room quietly. She carefully scanned the hallway before leaving the room completely. She carefully found her way down the passages and she carefully made her way out the back way to the sea. She didn't want to come into Savire's sights if she could help it.

Suddenly she ran smack right into someone.

"Mali?" the voice asked surprised. Mali froze as she heard his voice. He forcefully pushed her face up to meet his eyes. She met his hard eyes with impassive emerald orbs.

"Savire," she said flatly, backing away warily. Her eyes challenged him to come closer.

"I'm so glad you are safe, I missed you love," He said with a smile. Mali stared coolly back.

"I was never in danger, and I'm leaving now," Mali said walking purposely past the Lord of Zolas.

His black eyes narrowed and he purposely strode after her.

"Mali, you are allowed to go back with those Hylians," He said dangerously. Mali whipped around and stared him straight in the eye with nerve she never knew she had.

"I don't see how you are going to prevent it," Mali said evenly, staring at him coldly. He was slightly a taken back by the look in her eyes: she had certainly changed. She back away from him and the she jumped off the cliff into the water. She swam as fast as she could, knowing that Savire would be in the water coming after her in a few moments. She suddenly heard a shout. She jumped out of the water to see above the surface and saw the _Golden Spirit_ sailing her way.

Link watched the pursuing male Zola following Mali. He carefully notched an arrow to his bow and carefully aimed the long shaft. He shot it grazing Savire's arm causing him to pause, which gave Mali a little time.

Mali saw Savire's followers start to cut her off from the ship she began to wonder why she was even trying to get away.

Link shot Mali an arrow with a rope attached to it and as soon as she had it those on board began to pull fast. The Zola were faster but Mali had taken on her Hylian form and would drown if they pulled her down. Savire knew this and he was extremely mad. The Zola had stopped advancing and were quietly watching as the flower of the sea was pulled aboard the huge Hylian ship.

"Mali! Are you alright?" Link asked hugging her wet form tightly. Tetra also hugged Mali tightly. Tetra, who wouldn't admit it, had found that she has missed the girl greatly.

"Nonna is so frail Link," Mali said, allowing her tears to finally fall. Link held her tightly as she quietly cried.

"She'll be alright Mali, did you find where we have to go to next?" Link asked quietly, still holding her. She nodded against his chest.

"We have to go southwest of here. Cimmerii Island is the island of shadows. We are going there next," Mali said quietly. Link looked at Tetra over Mali's head, Tetra nodded and they steered the ship in the right direction leaving the annoyed Zola behind to wait for their Princess to return.

Soon the crew could see Cimmerii Island and they noticed that it seemed to be shrouded in shadows. They anchored as close as they could and found their way to shore. Mali looked around cautiously as she stepped onto the shore.

Everyone carefully followed Mali who seemed to follow her instincts through the shadowy island.

"You dare come to our island armed!"

**

* * *

Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it seemed like a pretty good place to leave off of. Hope you guys like Mali's homecoming and seeing some new characters a little bit more. Please review, and I'm also not going to post the review thank yous here anymore, I will write to each of you as you review. Talk with you all soon!**

**Please note that I would appreciate if you all review, it keeps me very motivated to write.**

_**Nonna means Grandmother or grandma.**_

**_See ya! _**

**_Kariah_**


	9. Shadows

Shadows

"You dare to come to our island armed?" A voice asked dangerously from the shadows. Mali looked around and found crimson eyes staring at them from the tree.

"We wouldn't stand a chance against the Sheikah, we only wish to speak to the Shadow Sage," Mali said calmly. The hidden Sheikah contemplated this for a moment before dropping from her perch and approaching the group. Mali noticed that this Sheikah was a female.

"My name is Mali, these are my companions, Tetra, Link, Dimitri, Nevina, Aryll, and the rest are Tetra's crew.

"Why are you seeking the Shadow Sage?" the Sheikah asked, eying them suspiciously. Mali walked forward and fearlessly looked at the Sheikah.

"We need her assistance, besides, Impa is the sworn protector of the royal family. However, it would seem she left the last princess to her own devices," Mali said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Don't talk about Impa that way," The Sheikah hissed, ready to leap at Mali.

"Aekorra, that is enough," a firm cool voice said, coming up behind the group. Impa came up to Mali who coolly turned around to face the Sheikah. Impa drew back in surprise.

"Kariah," She whispered in surprise. Mali's eyes grew puzzled as Impa whispered the name.

"Kariah? Who is Kariah?" Mali asked puzzled. Impa closed her eyes and knelt down before a very bewildered Mali. Aekorra was also confused, as were Mali's friends.

"Welcome back to Hyrule, Milady," Impa greeted softly. Mali was very confused and she knelt down in front of the Sheikah Sage.

"Impa, I don't understand, I'm not Kariah. I don't know who she is and my name is Mali," Mali said softly looking into Impa's ruby orbs. Impa's eyes widened slightly and then she slowly reached out and touched Mali's cheek.

"You look just like Kariah, except the eyes. Her eyes were soft violet but yours are sparkling emeralds. Tell me, about your past ancestors," Impa said, getting up.

"Um, well okay, but first I'm going to introduce you to everyone. That is Link, the Hero of Winds, and that is Tetra, Aryll is Link's younger sister. Nevina the Sage of Light, Dimitri the Sage of Fire, and the rest are Tetra's loyal crew. Oh and I'd like to mention that Tetra is actually Queen Zelda of Hyrule,' Mali said introducing the crew to them.

"New sages, why have you brought them here Mali?" Impa asked eying them up.

"They wanted to find out what is in the riddle box I guess," Mali shrugged, fishing out the riddle box. Impa nodded and decided to lead them to the sheltered part of the island.

"Impa, who is Kariah? I… Her name sound familiar, like I've heard it before," Mali asked Impa.

"Kariah is the Goddess of Time, she once helped the Hero of Time find the right timeline long ago. This was a story documented deep in the Hyrulian library and forgotten. The two times melded together after they were both complete. Queen Zelda I was the one who split the river of time forcing Kariah to walk in the Hyrulian realm. She left behind two of her most precious treasures, her daughter Arya and an instrument. The instrument was lost long ago and it was once said that Kariah protected the instrument with enchantments and a series of keys. She left Hyrule and only returned long enough to freeze the land of Hyrule in its isolated slumber for a century," Impa said, explaining some of Kariah's complicated history.

"Really, I thought there were only three goddesses. Where did Kariah come from that she got to be the Goddess of Time?" Tetra asked.

"Kariah is actually the younger sister of Din, Farore and Nayru. They are all sisters but Din Farore and Nayru are supposed to be triplets, whereas Kariah was born later on. They gave her the tantalizing task of time. Time is always moving and shifting. The Ocarina of Time, which was the instrument that she left behind with the Royal Family of Hyrule, was hidden for a time until Ganondorf first sought the power of the Triforce. Queen Zelda I whom was about ten at the time didn't fully understand the power of the instrument. She entrusted it to Link, who opened the Sacred Realm thus causing a bit of a split in the Time's River. The river was able to repair itself until Link was forced to travel back and forth from his childhood to his adulthood task. The final split happened when Zelda sent Link back permanently to his childhood so he could naturally grow to an adult. The river could no longer repair itself so Kariah was forced to descend down to Hyrule in order to help the Hero remember his legacy," Impa explained.

"Impa, you mentioned that Kariah had a daughter, how was that at all possible?" Link asked curiously.

"Arya was a Gerudo, Kariah once disguised herself as a Gerudo woman in order for Lania and Link to journey to the Spirit Temple. Link actually became quite smitten with the pretty goddess," Impa said slightly amused by the memory.

"Did they have Arya then?" Mali asked curiously, Arya's name also sounded familiar to her.

"No, Kariah was Arya's mother but her father was a mystery. Some speculated that it was Link, but it is a fact that it wasn't because Arya was fourteen at the same time that Link was seventeen. There was no possible way that Link was Arya's father. Besides, Link and Zelda were married and had two daughters and a son; Destiny, Eowyn, and Kalib," Impa said.

"What happened to the Gerudo that forced them to pass their blood to the Zora? My grandmother told me that I'm half Gerudo and Zora because my grandmother became bloodbro… sisters to one of the Gerudo warriors. She explained that there was a bit of a war after Nabooru was lost to the desert… I now remember why Arya is familiar; she was the one that passed her blood to my grandmother, Shasa," Mali said, explaining some of her heritage.

"You have both the blood of the Goddess of Time and the Sage of Water. Your grandmother is one of Ruto's granddaughters. Queen Ruto had three daughters, Nakia, Laruto and Naiya. Naiya is Shasa's mother," Impa said.

"Wait a minute, how can that be possible. When I talked to Laruto in the Earth Temple, she told me that an age had passed. How can that be possible?"

Flashback 

"_Oh great hero, chosen by the Master Sword. My name is Laruto. I am a Zora Sage. For an age, I offered my prayers here in the Earth Temple, praying that the power to repel evil would ever remain within the Master Sword._

_And yet… unfortunately, due to Ganondorf's evil designs, the Master Sword you hold has lost this power."_

"_**Where did Ganondorf come from?" Link asked.**_

"_After his defeat at the hand of the Hero of Time, Ganondorf was sealed away… but not for all Time. He was revived and he returned to Hyrule in a red wrath._

_He attacked this temple and stole my soul, knowing that he had to remove the power contained in that enchanted blade. In order to return the power to repel evil to your sword, you must find another to take my stead in this temple. And ask the gods for their assistance."_

"_**How do I find the one to take your place?" Link asked.**_

"_You must find the one who carries my bloodline… The one who holds this sacred instrument…_

_Nothing can stop the flow of Time or the passing of generation… but the fate carried within my bloodline endures the ravages of all the years. IT survives._

_The song you just conducted is one, which will open the eyes of the new sage and awaken within that sage the melody that will carry our prayers to the gods. The door that blocks your way will only open when the sage plays that song. May the winds of fortune blow with you._

End Flashback 

"Link, an age is not determined by a specific number of years but the events in the years. Ruto had her daughters, shortly after Link, the Hero of Time and Queen Zelda were married. Laruto took up the task as the earth sage at the tender age of ten. The age in which she was referring to was the Golden Age. It was broken during Daphnes Nohansen's reign. Ganondorf broke out and well, you mostly know the rest," Impa said quietly.

"What about our parents?" Aryll suddenly spoke up. Link gave her a warning glance. Mali glanced at Impa who merely shrugged,

"I don't know anything about them Hero." Mali knew about Link's parents because she had heard the stories before Kariah had apparently frozen time. She knew and she remembered the horrible argument that she and Link had in front of the tapestry in the Tower of Gods.

"Our main purpose for seeking you out Impa, is this riddle and this box. It says:

_The silver pieces of Gold,_

_The Power of Sages old,_

_The The Keys of Time's Realm,_

_The melody of Helm,_

_The treasure of Harkinian,_

We have figured most of the riddle out but the problem lies where we need the medallion of a sage. I believe that I'm right in saying that you are the Sage of Shadow," Mali ventured quietly.

"Perhaps, but the Shadow Medallion isn't issued by want alone…" Impa was interrupted by Mali,

"But must be earned. Tell me Impa, what is your challenge for the Hero and myself?" Mali asked. Impa pondered for a moment before calling Aekorra to her side.

"Take Mali and Link to the labyrinth, that shall be their test, the rest of you are to follow me," Impa said, turning away from the group and disappearing into the shadows. The others quickly raced to catch up with Impa, leaving Link and Mali with Aekorra.

"This way," Aekorra said, taking them in another direction. Link and Mali glanced at each other uneasily before following Aekorra. She led the through the thick trees that had to be hundreds of years old. Soon they came to the side of the mountain.

Aekorra held to purple scarves out to the Hero and the Zola.

"You must wear these before entering the shadow labyrinth. What you will encounter will depend on your worst fears. The Shadow Temple was the one temple that took the most courage for the Hero of Time. You won't be able to remove them until you reach what you are looking for," Aekorra said, tying the scarves across their eyes. Aekorra then led the silent pair to the entrance of the labyrinth.

"May the shadows deem you worthy," Aekorra said before leaving them.

"Come, lets go, " Link said grasping Mali's hand and starting forward.

"Aekorra mentioned that this is a labyrinth Link, it is a maze," Mali said tensely. They slowly made their way forward, straining their senses for any movement and danger. Soon they came to a place where the maze opened up and they found themselves facing a left turn, a right turn, and a path that led straight. They could feel the drafts of each place.

"Which way do we go?" Link asked, feeling frustrated by being bound by the scarf.

"We need something to go ahead of us and come back and tell us which is the right path," Mali said quietly.

"We don't have anything, I don't even have a fairy sprite to go ahead. Suddenly a scream pierced the air.

"That sounded like Aryll!" Link said, starting to panic. Mali didn't move when Link made to grab her hand.

"Just wait Link, it could be a trick. The Shadow Temple was a renowned temple that was full of illusions and many traps and creatures. We will have to tread cautiously. A foot in the wrong place could have been the difference of surviving the temple and falling into the darkest shadows for eternity," Mali said, rather calmly. Link snapped out of his panic when Mali started to concentrate.

"We have to rely on the other senses to find our way through the shadows…" Mali paused for a moment her senses telling her which was the better path.

"I can smell the sea to the left, we don't want to go back to the sea, we are looking for something deeper in the maze," Mali said, turning slightly facing towards the ways that went to the right and straight forward. Link suddenly picked up a faint sound coming from right in front of them. It sounded like a… he didn't know what but he suddenly realized that Mali had picked up on the sound. She was trembling slightly.

"You hear it too don't you?" Link said quietly.

"It's the sound of a guillotine, going through flesh," Mali whispered agitatedly. Link paled slightly before whispering,

"Aryll?"

"I doubt it, I told you, the maze is full of illusions and traps, Impa wouldn't intentionally put your sister in danger. Let's go to the right," Mali said, tugging on Link's arm, but he remained still for a moment.

"I don't think that is a good idea either," Link voiced uneasily, but he slowly followed her. They drew close to the door when Link quickly pulled Mali away. The sound of something heavy crashed to the ground right in front of them and knocking the duo onto their backs.

After her initial shock Mali suddenly clung to Link. She trembled uncontrollably and Link slowly rubbed her back in comfort of what had almost happened. Mali slowly let go and then was back to her original self and actually went to feel what it was that had crashed to the floor. It was a solid stone block that firmly sealed off that exit.

"I guess that was the wrong way to go," Mali said, her voice was still a little shaky. Link was silent as he slowly stood up and then gently pulled Mali to her feet.

"I guess we have to meet the guillotine. We should be able to skirt around it if we are careful…" Link said trailing off. Mali nodded, feeling her confidence returning and so she gently squeezed his hand and they found their way to the path that was leading to the blade falling on flesh, silencing the unfortunate souls forever.

The sounds grew louder as the duo drew closer to the guillotine itself. Mali and Link paused for a moment as the tunnel became very cold and threatening.

"I wish I could see what is ahead of us," Link whispered in frustration. Mali didn't say anything but slowly walked forward, almost recognizing the feel. Link drew his sword to comfort the rising unease in the pit of his stomach. Mali was slowly following the side of the labyrinth with her hand when she felt something on the wall that made her stop, causing Link to collide with her.

"Mali, what is it?" Link asked, stepping away from her.

"There is something on the wall here. It feels like runes, like old Hyrulian runes. _The rising sun will eventually set,_

_A newborn's life will fade,_

_From sun to moon, moon to sun…_

_Give peaceful rest to the living dead_

_Restless souls wander where they don't belong,_

_Bring them calm with the Sun's Song._

Mali understood at that moment why the corridor they were in was really cold. There were ReDead up ahead. She was surprised that Link didn't recognize the feeling unless these ReDead were the original creation that Ganondorf had let loose in Hyrule during his seven year reign of terror.

"I understand know, there are ReDead up ahead and they are the fierce ones. They are the souls of lost Hylian soldiers that Ganondorf decided to use to kill other people in their ghastly methods. The only way to defeat them with your eyes closed is playing the Suns Song that the composer brothers left in memory of departed royal family members. It says that where restless souls wander where they don't belong, to bring the to calm with the Suns Song," Mali explained, not moving another inch forward because she knew that the ReDead wouldn't hesitate in killing her.

"Do you know the Suns Song and do you have an instrument to play it on?" Link asked quietly.

"I know the Suns Song, but I don't have an instrument. It may work if I sing it or whistle it though," Mali said thoughtfully and so she did. It took her a few moments to get the right notes and pitches but she got it and the ReDead and Gibdo that were in the corridor were paralysed for a while enabling them to pass by them safely.

"We have to get past them without touching them," Mali said worriedly, "to wake them has severe consequences." Link pondered on the dilemma for a moment.

"Mali would light arrows kill them? The new breed of ReDead that Ganondorf had on my journey were easy prey to light arrows, they also were brought down by bombs. I have some in my pack," Link said rummaging around in his arsenal bag.

Link shot a light arrow into the crowd of ReDead and Gibdo in front of them and then drew his sword in case they came in contact with one by accident. Mali grabbed a dirk from her boot in case they got separated and needed to defend herself.

Link held the bow in his right hand and his sword in his left hand. He hoped that his training sword that he had gotten from Orca more than two years ago. He really wished he had the Master Sword.

They moved forward and surprisingly didn't confront anything but the guillotine itself. They stopped right before it and wondered how they would get past it. It was basically a wall in the middle of the corridor with a blade falling down to sever the neck of a creature.

"The Hero of Time was able to quickly run under the blade on its way up in the Shadow Temple. There were several guillotines in the temple. We will have to do the same thing," Mali said, gripping Link's hand tightly.

"Maybe but we don't know how wide the blade is or if there are more to come along the corridor," Link pointed out.

"We don't have a choice," Mali said, waiting for the blade to drop again. As soon as it did, Mali let go of Link and ran. Link wanted to follow but he knew that he would have to wait and he had no idea where Mali would have gone. The blindfolds were really starting to frustrate Link.

"Link, I'm alright, come through, and there are no more after this one," Mali called from the other side of the guillotine. Link took a deep breath and waited for the fall of the blade and then he quickly ran under it. He was stopped by Mali on the other side. He impulsively hugged her tightly in relief. He let her go and together, they continued through the labyrinth.

They encounter the odd Poe here or there, but the maze was otherwise quiet and soon they came to the end. Mali tested the blindfold to see if she could remove it yet, but it wouldn't budge.

"There is still one challenge Link," Mali whispered hesitantly. Link nodded and stepped in front of her. Link walked forward and found that he could slightly see in this room. The lanterns on the walls were bright enough to see through the veil of the blindfold. He sensed something move to his right and he quickly blocked the blade that was coming down at his backside. Mali grew alarmed as she heard the sound of metal clashing.

"Mali don't move, it's a Stalfos," Link shouted from somewhere ahead of her. She continued to hear Link battle the Stalfos.

Link was able to see the shadow in the dim light and eventually was able to get in some hits. His first was a parry move, something not seen by this particular Stalfos. Link was able to inflict quite the amount of damage on the living dead carcass.

However the Stalfos continued to come at him strongly and had also gotten a few hits in on Link.

Link blocked another blow coming at his head and then he swiftly rolled under the blade and struck the legs of the Stalfos. It was momentarily stunned and Link was able to finally sever the head from the skeletal body.

Link pulled at the blindfold and it slipped from his face and he looked around the room, breathing hard. He sat down as exhaustion took in and he looked to the tunnel that Mali was still waiting in.

"Mali! It is done!" Link called as he fell over unconscious. Mali ripped her blindfold off and ran to Link's side. She quickly saw that he was bleeding in several places. She saw the exit on the far side of the room and so she carefully manoeuvred Link's body so that she could carry him out piggyback style on her back.

Soon the sun was shining in her eyes and Impa and Aekorra greeted her.

"Well done Mali," Aekorra said, taking Link from her weary shoulders. Impa grasped Mali's hand in a firm handshake.

"You have earned the Shadow Medallion. Well done. It takes a lot of courage and teamwork to get through the perils of the Shadows. You actually descended into an old part of the Shadow Temple that was destroyed when the goddesses created this world above Hyrule," Impa said, gently placing the medallion in her hands.

"Thank you Sage of Shadow," Mali said humbly. She and Impa wound their way to others that were relieved to see her.

"You did it!" Aryll shouted giving Mali a big hug. Mali grinned and then noticed that Link had wakened.

"We did it Link!" Mali said excitedly showing him the medallion.

"I know we did. Now lets see where we are going next," Link said. Tetra brought the riddle box to Mali who carefully inserted it into the chest that they found at Greatfish Isle.

A silver Triforce shard lay nestled in the parchment of another map. Link looked at the map as Mali placed both the shard and the medallion into the lid of the box.

"Look Link, only one Triforce piece left and three medallions, and of course the pearls," Mali said, showing Link the lid of the box.

"We also have to go to Dragon Roost Island, that is where this map is taking us. When I feel well enough, we will leave to go searching for the next chest," Link said wearily. Mali nodded in understanding and with Link by her side, and the crew behind them, they all watched the sun set giving the sea a golden hue and a rainbow of colour to the sky…

**WOOT finally! You have no idea how long that chapter took. I've been working on it slowly since before Christmas. So so so sorry for the really late update but I have been incrediably busy… not a very good excuse but I try. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I tried to get more action into it. I look forward to your reviews! **

**also, to understand Kariah's goal as the goddess of time, check out Under the Hyrulian Moon to understand more.**

**See ya around! **

**Kariah**


	10. Of Water and Riddles

Of Water and Riddles

Link was finally well enough to travel in a few days after his encounter with the Stalfos in the labyrinth. He took it slow and found that his strength was returning rapidly.

Mali was staying close to Impa's side, quietly conversing in old Hyrulian.

"_Won't you come with us Impa?_" Mali asked quietly, hoping the Sage of Shadow would come on the final legs of the journey.

"_I don't know, it would seem like a big task,_" Impa said hesitantly. Mali's eyes were wise and knew what was keeping her back.

"_You shouldn't worry about the shadows, they are fine on their own. You must remember your duty to the Royal Family. Zelda wouldn't want to see her beloved friend so lost. Your duty is now not only to her but to her descendants,_" Mali said sincerely.

Impa froze as she saw the spirit of Kariah behind young Mali's eyes.

"_You really are the descendant of Kariah, you sounded exactly like her just now,_" Impa said with a slight sigh, "_I suppose Aekorra and I will come along, as long as Ms. Tetra doesn't mind._"

"_I'm sure she will be fine with it, there is still a bit of room on the Golden Eagle,_" Mali said confidently.

All around everyone was getting ready to board the ship. Impa and Aekorra quickly left and returned a few minutes later with the few belongings that they owned. Link found his way to Mali's side.

"I'm glad you convinced her, she and Aekorra will love the tapestry in the Tower of Gods. I was thinking we could drop her and the rest of the sages off at the Tower till we return with Medli, Makar and the final sage. Otherwise we won't be able to make it safely, plus it gives Savire the chance to attack us," Link said gravely to Mali. She nodded in agreement.

"Yes Link, however if Medli is at Dragon Roost Isle we will be talking to her right away," Mali said. Link nodded and gently squeezed her hand.

"We must be getting closer to solving the riddle," Link said quietly.

"I hope so, I can't wait to finally unravel this mystery left behind by Kariah," Mali said thoughtfully.

"Do you think we might meet Kariah by the end of this?" Link mused thoughtfully.

"Anything's possible," Mali shrugged, leaning into him. He dropped their hands and brought an arm around her waist. They stood that way for a while before Link regrettably left her side to help finish provisioning the ship.

Mali climbed the cliff to look out beyond the island. The sea breeze gently caressed her face and her ruby locks swayed gently in it. She suddenly felt a strange sensation or rather heard one. It was a voice on the wind.

_My young descendant, ring the bell upon the tower after the last medallion is found. Awaken my kin and receive what you seek…_

"Kariah…" Mali whispered, feeling the presence of the goddess in the wind.

_Your friends are waiting for you Mali_

"Thank you," Mali whispered, turning as Link came up behind her.

"Mali, we are ready to board, what were you doing up here?" Link asked curiously.

"Just thinking, praying," Mali said with a small smile. She placed her small hand in his and together they carefully left the cliff.

"To Dragon Roost!" Mali heard Tetra yell from the helm. Link conducted the Ballad of Gales and the ship took to the skies in a torrent of power. Impa and Aekorra were slightly taken by surprise and took on defensive stances.

"_Peace Sheikah, its only the power held by the Hero of Winds_" Mali said in the old language to comfort them. They slowly relaxed as they took in the sight of the mountain home of the Rito.

"The Rito are the changed forms of the Zora's who remained loyal to the King of Hyrule. They live on this Island. Valoo is their fire deity and can only speak in the old language," Mali said, giving all the new comers a small portion of their history.

"Won't they recognize you as one of the traitors?" Aekorra asked rather harshly. Mali frowned slightly but didn't seem bothered much by the comment.

"Actually they don't remember what happened and how they came into existence, with the possible exception of Medli," Mali said nonchalantly.

"How can they forget?" Aekorra asked slightly confused. Impa was also curious along with many of the others that weren't busy at the moment.

"The same way everyone else has forgotten…" Mali bit off as she realized she was saying too much. She turned away and stared out to the sea, a soft voice in her memory reminding her of that day…

* * *

_Zola, thou have been encased in time for a hundred years. Thou were not saved as the Goddesses saved the Hyrulians. Until the hero fulfills his destiny thou will not be free of the prison that is Hyrule._

_Mali thou have a task to complete, one that you will undertake as soon as the realm known as Hyrule has been drowned by the sea…_

_The mysterious voice faded and left the Zola rather confused. Only Mali and the Savire the prince figured it out quickly. _

"_The Hyrulians are our enemies, we must avenge what is ours after their assaulted Hero frees us!" Savire had yelled earning the respect and the side of the Zola. Mali didn't want to believe that the Hylians had done anything wrong. The only reason that her Grandmother, Shasa had given her that the Zora turned on the Hylians was because by a freak accident where a stranger killed Zora and wore their pelts as a jacket. From then on the Zora changed their names to Zola. Those that remained loyal became the Rito tribes._

_Mali disliked the way that the Zola were behaving so she isolated herself and tried to learn the shape shifting magic that was given to the Zora from the goddesses…_

* * *

Nevina, Dimitre, and Impa looked at Mali, wondering how much of Hyrule the Zola princess remembered.

"Mali, we must go and speak with Medli," Link said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the starboard side of the ship.

Link jumped overboard and landed in the sea and Mali followed with a sigh. Together they swam and were greeted by the Rito waiting for them.

"Hero! Welcome back to our humble mountain home," Komali said hugging the Hero of Winds.

"Komali, how ya doing mate?" Link asked with a hearty laugh. Mali watched the exchange with a small sad smile. The Rito were everything that she wished her people had remained, loyal and loving.

One of the Rito suddenly appeared beside her with a grin on her face.

"You must be one of Link's friends," Said the small Rito girl, "What's your name?"

"Mine is Mali. What is yours?" Mali asked, a smile making its way onto her face.

"My name is Shylah," Shylah said with a grin. Mali grinned back as she recognized the name of a noble Hyrulian bird long ago.

"Uncle Link is so awesome and handsome don't you think?" Shylah asked slyly. Mali glanced at the young girl for a moment before a bout of playfulness came across the proper girl.

"I dunno, he is pretty arrogant and cold and has a poor sense of humour. Don't you think?" Mali asked with a straight face.

"Ah, glad to see everyone is talking about me," Link said melancholy, but his lips were twitching with a smile.

"And who said we were talking about you and not Komali?" Mali asked mockingly.

"You're soo full of yourself Uncle Link," Shylah said laughing hard.

"You think I'm full of my self?" Link asked with an evil glint in his eyes. Shylah just laughed and hid behind Mali. Link manoeuvred around Mali and grabbed the small Rito, assaulting her with a tickle attack. Shylah's laughter rang throughout the mountain.

Link finally stopped giving the young girl the chance to recover slightly. Many of the Rito who watched the display of affection were laughing along with Mali. Link and Shylah shared a look before both looking hungrily at Mali. She abruptly stopped laughing as they looked at her like that.

"Get her!" Shylah yelled running at the Zola, who was followed quickly by Link. Together Shylah and Link tackled Mali to the ground and began a furious assault on her sides pulling peals of laughter from her.

"Link! Please s..st..stop!" Mali pleaded in between fits of giggles.

"I don't think so, you called me arrogant," Link taunted, tickling her harder.

"I didn't mean it!" Mali cried out rather violently. Link looked at her in surprise and quickly stopped. He looked at her curiously and found her lying quite still. "Mali?" Suddenly she bolted laughing as she ran up the slope to the second level.

Medli was making her way down to the main level when she saw a Hylian run up the slope. Medli couldn't do anything to stop her rush.

"Ouf!" A voice exclaimed as Mali ran right into her. Link and Shylah found Mali and Medli sprawled on the ground laughing.

"I'm glad you to have found something to laugh at," Link said shaking his head as he helped the two girls to their feet. Shylah picked up a letter that Medli had been bringing down to the group.

"Here Mama, you dropped this," said passing the letter over to her mother.

"Thank you , but it's for Uncle Link," Medli said, handing it over to him.

Link took it and a look of surprise passed across his face.

"It's not just for me, it's for Mali too," Link said, glancing up at Mali. Curiously, Mali went and stood beside Link so that they both could read it.

_Greetings to Mali of the Zola and Link the Hero of Winds. The Spirit Sage, Shamariah, resides on Saeculumi Isle off the west coast of Western Fairy Island._

_-Anonymous_

Mali and Link looked at each other in confusion. Who would give a tip to where the last sage was?

"I was also given a letter, and was told to write this for you, I don't know what it means though" Medli said, giving Link another piece of parchment.

_Passing over the sun, a shadow is naught,_

_Deity worshipper of thine._

"Hmm, a riddle," Mali commented quietly.

"What for?" Link asked looking dubiously back at the parchment.

"Hard to say. Could mean anything, but it probably has something to do with Medli.

"Me?" Medli asked in confusion.

"Yep, if my conclusion aligned in the stars is correct…" Mali started, "you are the Sage of Water as well as the Sage of Earth."

"Aligned in the stars huh," Medli commented wryly. Mali just grinned in a very un-Mali like way.

"Ok, lets put on the thinking hats," Link said, looking at the riddle.

"Something is passing across the sun, but it doesn't cast a shadow," Mali recited.

"I don't understand. We all have shadows when the sun is out," Shylah commented. Mali's eyes light up slightly as she realized the answer; however she decided to let them ponder a little bit longer.

"Wait, Mom, when you fly in the air you cast a shadow down on the sea right?" Shylah asked. Medli nodded but Link was the one who first caught on.

"Air!" Link shouted causing both Medli and Shylah to jump.

"Not quite, your thinking along the right lines Link, but it's a little more complicated then that. People don't worship air; it's just there. The riddle is a little more specific. Passes is the key word." Mali said evenly, "Air in a manner of speaking doesn't really move, it kind of sits there. But when air does move, it's called…."

"Wind!" Shylah shouted in excitement. Link smacked his forehead at the obvious answer.

"Ok, Link where were the Wind Deities worshipped?" Mali asked patiently.

"The Wind Shrine right behind this mountain!" Link shouted. Mali rolled her eyes and together they went out to the wind shrine just outside.

"There isn't anything here, did we misread the riddle?" Link asked, looking at the epitaph on Zephos stone. Mali ignored him for a moment as she went over to the broken stone of Cyclos. She shifted the rubble a little and found a symbol on the platform.

"Oh this is it all right, look it's the Water Medallion symbol," Mali said, showing them what she had uncovered.

"It's just a symbol though, there is no medallion there," Link said, but it was Medli who spoke next.

"The medallion only means that you have succeeded in solving the riddle. The medallion must be earned. You have earned it from me," Medli said seriously. She raised her arms like the sages of old and the medallion appeared. It floated gracefully over to Mali.

"Thank you Medli," Mali said softly, turning the medallion around in her hand.

"Mali, we must get going, we have to retrieve that one treasure chest with the final piece of the Silver Triforce and we must get out to Saeculumi Island," Link said. Shylah suddenly grasped Mali in a huge hug.

"I don't want you to go," Shylah said crying softly, Mali's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're Aunty Mali now," Shylah said, "You and Uncle Link are family."

"Shylah, come away now," Medli said firmly, giving Mali an apologizing look.

"Medli, we are taking the rest of the sages to the Tower of Gods to await for the final two sages. Makar and this Shamariah. We would like all of the sages present when we find them all. So if you would meet us there in a couple of days," Link said, climbing the side of Tetra's ship. All the other occupants on the ship were waving.

Mali waved the medallion successfully, with a smile on her face. Once on the ship, they placed the medallion in the lid of the treasure box. It glowed happily with the other three, Light, Shadow, Fire and now Water.

"To the next chest, according to the map it's off the northern tip of the island," Link said to Tetra. She yelled her command to the bridge and the sailors unfurled the sails. Once they drew close to where the chest was supposedly located. Link lowered the Red Lion into the water and he retrieved the chest.

The crew pulled him back up onto the Golden Eagle. They all gathered around as Mali inspected the chest.

"That is why we were sent a letter about Shamariah, there is nothing on this chest or the parchment that would have given us any clues to her whereabouts," Mali said, after thoroughly inspecting the chest.

"Tetra, I think we are going to stop at the Tower of Gods before we continue onto Saeculumi Island. I'm sure some of the sages would appreciate waiting for our return from the home of the Spirit Sage. Link will conduct the Ballad of Gales and we will be there in no time and then he says that the closest the cyclone will take us to Saeculumi Isle is Greatfish Isle," Mali said to Tetra, bracing herself for the cyclone that would take them to the sky.

"Batten everything down, and secure yourselves, we are taking to the sky," Tetra yelled to everyone on the ship. Link stood on the bridge and conducted one of the wind deity's songs.

They docked and the sages, Aekorra and Aryll walked the planks down to the dock and stood waving as the ship once again left, leaving Nevina and Aryll to show Dimitri, Impa, and Aekorra around the tower. They decided it was best if they waited for the others in the tapestry room.

The Golden Eagle dropped back down onto the sea by Greatfish Island and followed the sun to the west…

* * *

**Wow, I can't believe how life can take over sometimes. Sorry mates for the long delay on this chapter. It was really tricky and I didn't know how it would turn out. Turns out it didn't go to plan anyway. **

**As for review response, I can't remember if I replied to you guys, so here is a universal thank you to you all. And shadow readers, I would appreciate your input as well. **

**I will try and get the next chapter up a little faster. Thanks!**

**Kariah**


	11. Shamariah

Shamariah

A warm eastern wind filled the sails of the ship causing her to cruise along at a fairly fast pace. Mali looked at the small Western Fairy Island as they cruise close to its shores.

"So Mali, I never go the chance to ask, what happened when you went back to see the Zola?" Tetra asked curiously.

"Not a lot, I ran into my fiancée, Savire," Mali said lowly, carefully looking at Link. He hadn't heard.

"You never mentioned that you were engaged to him," Tetra said suspiciously.

"I don't have much choice, as a lower princess of the clan I'm required to marry him, that was before the great flood. After that Kariah seemed to have different plans for me," Mali said with a sigh, staring out at the gulls flying out in the distance.

"Do you have to return to them after this quest of the chest is over?" Tetra asked. Mali shrugged, not really having an answer to that.

"Why are those gulls in such a flock like that?" Mali asked suddenly as they drew close to them. Tetra frowned when her memory kicked in.

"Hard to starboard!" Tetra shouted but it was too late. The ship was suddenly caught in a swirling whirlpool. Link jumped down from the main deck with his bow drawn.

"Link what is that?" Mali shouted her question above the noise that the whirlpool and the beast within were making.

"It's a Big Octorok!" Link yelled back releasing two arrows at a time from his bow. The ship below their feet was rocking dangerously as Link continued to send arrows at the beast. It was blasting bombs at the ship and a large tremor sent Mali careening overboard!

"Ack!" Mali cried out as she hit the cold ocean water. Link heard her scream but didn't have time to even look for her. If he didn't stop the Octorok, it was likely the rest of the ship would be destroyed.

Tetra suddenly appeared beside him with her own bow and they fired volleys of arrows together. Another bomb caused the ship to creak and groan with a shudder.

"We have to defeat that thing before it destroys the whole ship!" Tetra shouted above the wind. Link only nodded in grim agreement. He was still worried for Mali, he couldn't see her on the ship but she probably found her way to safety.

Suddenly the Octorok shuddered and let out a deep cry. Everyone on deck froze as the whirlpool slowly quit spinning as the Octorok began to sink into the depths of the sea.

Link looked at the beast curiously because he could see that there were still eyes on the beast that hadn't been destroyed. Looking down into the water he could see Mali slowly treading water.

She looked back up at Link and Link was surprised to see blood dripping from her sharp teeth. She dove as a thrashing tentacle come sailing at her from the beast in pain.

Link was dumbfounded, why would Mali have blood in her mouth? Soon the beast sank and was gone forever. Mali resurfaced just a short way from the ship. Link tossed her a rope and she wordlessly grabbed it.

"Bring her up boys!" Link shouted as he helped pull Mali aboard. Once there he caught her and studied her.

"Why did you have blood on your teeth Mali?" Link asked, straight to the point.

"Over the years, the Zola have been able to develop poison and it is extremely lethal to anyone bitten by a Zola," Mali said uncomfortably. Instead of turning away from her, Link hugged her gently.

"I think you just saved all of our lives with the poison in your teeth Mali," Link said quietly. Mali flushed slightly at the complement.

"Land Ho off the starboard bow!" Zuko yelled from the crow's nest. Link and Mali turned to look off of the right side of the ship and saw a large red rock appearing above the horizon.

"That must be Saeculumi Isle," Mali said as the ship began to pick up speed as the crew unfurled the sails that had been quickly furled in the battle against the big Octorok.

"What do you think we will find there, Mali?" Tetra asked, coming down from the bridge.

"We should find the Sage of Spirit, but what will be with her or protecting her I don't know. The Gerudo were renowned warriors and they don't take nicely to strangers. I would assume that she is a pure blood Gerudo and will have all other characteristics of one. They are a proud species and Arya the Gerudo who became blood sisters to my grandmother put aside her pride to give her blood a fighting chance. Arya will be the last pure bred Gerudo," Mali explained.

The ship was manoeuvred around a reef and they dropped anchor. The mountain appeared smooth with no beach. It looked like there was no land except for the mountain. And there wasn't a smaller island like the Mother and Child Isles. Link fished around in his pack for a moment to find a hyoi pear so he could lure a seagull close enough so he could see the whole mountain.

Once Link had tapped into the seagull's mind he took to the sky and flew around the mountain and all the way up to the summit. Within he saw that mountain indeed had a centre like Mother and Child Islands. He flew the gull around the base of the mountain once more and found a dark fissure that was slowly appearing as the tide started to go out. Link severed his connection with the seagull.

"I found a way in. There is a fissure on the north side that only appears when there is a low tide and it's big enough for the _Red Lion_ to get through,"

"Then we don't have moment to loose," Tetra said, whipping the cover off of Link's beloved little boat.

"We will have to be careful. Shamariah will be on the watch of that fissure in case of intruders. It's probably her only way to keep herself alive is if she can defend that fissure on her own," Mali pointed out as Link and Tetra fixed the boat in the pulley system to lower Link's boat.

They climbed in and beckoned for Nudge and Gonzo to lower the boat down onto the sea below. As the trio sailed to the fissure Mali watched the birds and if there were any other small animals to alert their presence. Soon they entered the temporarily dark fissure and suddenly a flaming arrow came barrelling at the boat.

Mali was the first to react and she used another power that she had neglected to tell the others. A shield of water rose and dosed the fire on the arrow. It hit the side of the boat harmlessly.

"_We are friends, cease fire Shamariah!_" Mali cried out in Old Hyrulian.

"_You trespass on my valley! I demand you leave now! I have no friends for I live alone and kill all who trespass!_" came the harsh reply. Mali spotted the girl sitting behind a rock on a ledge not much higher than the water line. She motioned for Link to carefully find a way up behind her.

"Link, be careful, she will be fully trained and could very well match you in skill level," Mali warned softly. Link nodded and slowly slid into the water, not making any noise.

"_Have you never felt lonely Gerudo? Why kill when we could be your friends?_" Mali asked as Tetra slowly steered the boat up the fissure.

"_A Gerudo befriends nobody!_" Shamariah spat coldly.

"_Arya did,_" Mali said slyly, slipping into the Gerudo way of talking. _"If I recall correctly, Arya bestowed a special gift to you, Granddaughter of Nabooru."_

Shamariah was silent for a moment before hesitantly retorting, _"How would you know, you're just a worthless islander, you know nothing about Hyrule and it's people." _

"_That was lame Shamariah, not many islanders can speak the ancient tongue and you know it. Otherwise you would have spoken to the others before killing them. My name is Mali, I'm a Zola and I also carry Gerudo blood in my veins. My grandmother Shasa and Arya were blood sisters. In a last attempt to keep the Gerudo alive she bestowed it to the Zola. Please, we wish only for your assistance in a special task," _Mali asked hoping that Link wouldn't have to fight her.

"_I suppose it would be nice to speak to someone again, fine come in and I'll see what I can do, but if it is completely pointless I will kill thee, granddaughter of Shasa,_" Shamariah answered.

"Link, come away she has agreed to come and speak with us," Mali said to Link who was still hidden in the shadows not far from where Shamariah was standing.

"_Shamariah, my friend Link, the Hero of Winds is about five feet away from you, please come down with him into the light," _Mali said, motioning for Link to come out of hiding.

Link walked towards the red head that was suspiciously watching him. He offered his arm in a silent invitation for him to properly lead her down from the ledge.

She glared defiantly and jumped down from the ledge into the boat without so much as a bat of an eyelash. Link shrugged and jumped down into the boat and landed beside Mali. They soon passed through the fissure with not a word between the trio and the Gerudo. As soon as they came out into the light however Mali and Shamariah stared at each other, sizing each other up.

"_You're no Zola, you are a Hylian!_" Shamariah suddenly yelled out and was ready to strike her. Link however caught her arm in a surprisingly strong grip.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Milady," Link said in a serious tone. Shamariah saw the hardness of a seasoned warrior behind the sapphire orbs that challenged her to strike Mali. She didn't really know for sure what he had said but she had a guess and that wasn't to strike Mali or suffer the consequences. She slowly dropped her hand but continued to glower at Mali.

"_I have the gift that the Zora had and used. The Zora are now known as the Zola and most have forgotten their role in the history of Hyrule. I however have a grandmother whom was my teacher and protector. I was able to tap into the magic that allowed the Zora to become the Rito of the sky. I practiced long and hard and now I can go between the form of a Zola and the form of Hylian,_" Mali explained earnestly.

"_You truly are a strange one. How come you came seeking me?_" Shamariah asked.

"_We are in need of a certain medallion, a medallion that will open this box,_" Mali said, pulling the treasure box from the pack on her back. The four medallions currently in the lid brightly shined at Shamariah.

"_You are seeking me because I'm the Sage of Spirit. Well you should know that a medallion is not given freely but must be earned. You must pass the test that I have for you. I believe now that I know the true nature of your quest that I will finally be able to leave this spit of rock,_" Shamariah said frowning at the beautiful valley.

"_You've been here for a long time, I know, my people were imprisoned underneath the ocean when Kariah, the Goddess of Time froze Hyrule in a slumber until the day that the new hero came seeking the Master Sword from the Hero's Cavern. It was a hundred years before Link came seeking the power of the Master Sword and the Sages of Earth and Wind. I understand what it is like to be a prisoner. I still do. Being a princess to the Zola, I'm supposed to be engaged to Savire. However, my heart is tugging me in a new direction…_" Mali said breaking off in hesitation. Shamariah nodded in understanding and the Sage of Spirit and the Goddess of Time's descendant became deep friends.

"Um, Mali, we don't have a clue what you are saying," Link said coming up and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Um, _Shamariah, do you know any of the new Hylian language?_" Mali asked the tanned girl. She gently shook her head no.

"She doesn't know the new language Link. We will have to make do with what I know," Mali said with a sigh.

"_The new language is something those of old Hyrule are gifted with. I have not been blessed with such a gift like the other sages,_" Shamariah said shamefully.

"_What happened that you weren't blessed with the gift?_" Mali asked curiously.

"_I haven't been able to tap into the power of the Sage of Spirit. I know that is my duty but I don't know how to tap into the ability. It's being hidden from me,_" Shamariah said, frustration lacing her tone.

"Link, she doesn't really have control over her power as a sage. We may have come across a problem," Mali worried.

"Kariah wouldn't have given the box to you if it was impossible to solve. I think you are giving up to soon. She sent that box down through her daughter to your grandmother to you. You need a little more faith in the Goddess of Time," Link said softly, hugging her gently. Mali sighed before turning back to Shamariah.

"_OK, we need to figure out a way for you to control your power. First of all, is there anything that could be blocking your power? Like an object or living thing or a spirit even?_" Mali asked Shamariah.

"_There is one, a spirit by the name of Twinrova. She is actually comprised of two witches by the names of Koume and Kotake. In old Hyrule they used to be the surrogate mothers of Ganondorf. Their spirits came back to haunt me when the Goddess's created New Hyrule. I'm sure they are holding my powers in check,_" Shamariah said hesitantly.

"_You are sure not a very good wench. We told you to kill all who enter that fissure. It's for your own safety,_" commanded the voice that could only belong to Twinrova.

"_I do things on my own will, these are my new friends and much better friends than you have ever been. I decided I wanted to meet someone new after a hundred years of living on this spit of a rock with nobody for company but you!_" Shamariah said coldly.

"_You call them friends when only the red bitch can speak in our language. The two blondes are useless to you,_" Twinrova taunted. Tetra's eyes flashed dangerously. She recognized a few words and sentences from the old language and she knew enough to know that Twinrova had just insulted her and Link. Mali was also seething.

"_Hold your tongue in the presence of the Princess of Hyrule and the Princess of the Zora. You are very disrespectful,_" Mali spat coldly at the spirit.

"_And what are you going to do about it your highness?_" Twinrova mocked.

"Mali, how do you defeat a spirit?" Link asked suddenly.

"You don't Link, a spirit is a dead being with no physical body and usually no power to their name. Ghosts are nothing but another type of spirit. They thrive on the darkness and can only be eliminated if shot with the silver arrows. The legendary arrows can only be found in one place. Algidus Convallis. It is the demon valley and can only be passed by one who has enough courage, wisdom, and power. The spirits there are the ones that have been defeated over countless ages in Hyrule. They are the demons that Ganondorf himself has sent upon Hyrule. It is a horrible, dangerous place… but I guess that is where we go because this particular spirit has encased the Spirit Sages power," Mali said thoughtfully. Link and Tetra just stared at her.

"You're only telling us this now?" Link demanded.

"_Shamariah, have you ever entered that valley?_" Mali asked, ignoring Link's question.

"_I did once, it was right before the great flood. Is that why my powers have been stolen?_" Shamariah asked.

"_I think that what happened is that you were still to immature in your age to go into the Spirit Valley. That is where the Spirit Sage initiation is. You went before you were of age and so they decided to take your power and unfortunately for you it ended up in the hands of a very annoying spirit,_" Mali said thoughtfully.

"_That must be it, then I must do this alone, for I cannot give you a task without becoming the Sage of Spirit that I am supposed to be. My task to obtain the Silver Arrows will be my rite of passage into sage hood. The valley itself is not very large. There is one guardian, an old Iron Knuckle. He shouldn't be to bad although he has been asleep for a hundred years or more,_" Shamariah said regrettably.

"_We will come with you to the edge of Algidus Convallis with you. You are not alone, our hearts will be with you on this journey._" Mali encouraged, "Link, Tetra, we have to go with Shamariah to the Spirit Valley. She will retrieve the silver arrows and then we will be given our task in order to receive the Spirit medallion," Mali explained. Tetra had been loosely translating what she knew of the old language to Link.

"We are right behind you Mali and Shamariah. Spirit's beware," Link said bravely.

Twinrova cackled mercilessly as they disappeared to join their fellow spirits in Algidus Convallis.

* * *

**Well, about time this chapter was displayed don't you agree. Sorry for the delay and all but here is the chapter and I hope to see all of your reviews and I love new reviewers too. Drop me a line and let me know what I'm doing right and wrong! Lol leave a review and I will make an effort to update a little quicker!**

**Thank you to the last reviews again.**

**Kariah**


	12. Spirit Reborn

Spirit Reborn

The rim to Algidus Convallis was just about in sight as the two Hylians, a Zola and a Gerudo made their way to the edge to bid Shamariah farewell on her journey to retrieve the Silver Arrows on her initiation day.

"_You'll do fine Shamariah, we will be with you the whole way,_" Mali reassured as she tied a small pouch onto Shamariah's belt.

"_When in doubt open this pouch, you may find the very thing you need to succeed._" Mali said softly, "_This pouch was one of the magic talismans that Nabooru left Arya who entrusted it to my grandmother I'd like it back. According to legend it belonged to Kariah herself._"

Shamariah touched the pouch for courage and then with a nod of farewell to the two Hylians, and a handshake to Mali, Shamariah wordlessly descended into the ravine.

Trees lined the way into the valley but the bottom of it was bare and sandy. The spirits restlessly floated in the valley but soon noticed the Gerudo as she placed a foot off the rock that lined the valley and onto the sand that was scattered along the base of the valley.

* * *

Link, Mali and Tetra finished righting a small tent that they set up along the rim of the valley. They could see Shamariah as she carefully made her way down the ravine. Her red hair and pink Gerudo outfit gave her away. It was a good thing she wasn't trying to hide from anything.

"I wish we could see her a little closer," Mali said quietly.

"We can, I sent my magic stone with her," Tetra smirked. Link frowned in annoyance.

"You mean my magic stone, you gave it to _me_ a long time ago," Link said putting emphasis on me. Tetra's smirk widened and she grinned coyly. Link muttered something incoherently.

"I'm sorry Link, I didn't catch that," Tetra said sweetly.

"I said bloody pirate!" Link said loudly, causing Tetra to smirk and Mali to giggle. Link grumbled to himself and Tetra brought out a small bowl.

"This will work for what we need to see. Usually I use my mother's little mirror to watch but I left it on the _Golden Spirit_ so this bowl with water in it will have to work. Mali you're a creature of the water, could you?" Tetra asked gesturing to the bowl.

"I…ok," Mali hesitated but then she chanted in the old language, "_Spirits of the water, I call thee to aid us in our adventure, please fill this bowl with thy holy water._"

The bowl slowly filled with cool clear water much to Link's surprise. Tetra called the power of the stone to her bowl and Shamariah shimmered into view on the water.

* * *

As soon as Shamariah set a foot on the sand in the bottom of the valley all the wandering lost souls were alerted and they slowly came to her. One particular Gerudo spirit appeared and formed in front of Shamariah. Unbelievably it was Shamariah's ancestor Sage, Nabooru. Shamariah fought the shock that made it onto her facial features.

"_Shamariah Lania, welcome to Algidus Convallis, you know your task is to find the Silver Arrows for the fight against Koume Rova and Kotake Rova as your right of passage as a Sage of Spirit,_" the spirit of Nabooru said quietly. Shamariah's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"_You are not Nabooru Dragmire. She earned her right of passage many years ago and she is now sitting with the other sages in the heavens. Be gone spirit, I know my task and it is to dispel deceivers like you,_" Shamariah said forcefully. The spirit gave an angry hiss as it vanished.

* * *

What did she say Mali?" Link asked as he looked at the bowl in confusion.

"She said that the spirit wasn't Nabooru Dragmire and that she knows her task," Mali answered as she continued to watch the Gerudo make her way through the traps and illusions that the spirits had made for her.

"Why did it call her Shamariah Lania? Is that her full name?" Tetra asked curiously.

"Not completely, her full name would be Shamariah Lania Nabooru Dragmire, but most would know her as just Shamariah Lania. The Gerudo took their last names from their mother's first names. If my name went by that naming sysem I would have two because of my flow of bloodlines. Mali Misu Shasa Ruto or in my other case Mali Arya Kariah," Mali said quietly.

"What if we went by those naming systems?" Tetra asked, completely intrigued.

"Well, your true name would be Zelda Rhianna Destiny Zelda, and Link would be…" Mali hesitated before wondering if she should reveal to Link what she was going to reveal. She looked at Link and Tetra's eager faces before turning away flushing.

"I cannot tell you your name Link. I don't think you and Tetra are ready to hear it," Mali whispered. Link looked at her confused and angry.

"What's my name got to do with her?" Link asked angrily. Mali merely ignored the angry blond and continued watching Shamariah.

* * *

Shamariah rested for a small moment after her encounter with the impostor spirit of Nabooru. She could see that the spirit left behind sand traps and illusions for her to fall into. She could also see her destination on the far side of the valley.

She cautiously made her way forward and found herself face to face with a huge lizard! It drew its short sword and attacked Shamariah. Shamariah however had her twin Gerudo blades out in a flash and the lizard already had a slash on its tiny forearm. They circled each other but suddenly Shamariah's foot fell deep into a sand pit causing her to sit down at the mercy of the beast.

She struggled but her foot was caught tight and the lizard's eyes lightened at the opportunity for a kill.

"_When in doubt open this pouch, you may find the very thing you need to succeed,_" Mali's voice echoed through Shamariah's mind and her hand grabbed at the small pouch that was attached to her hip. She pulled out a dark little nut and that was all that was in the bag.

'_What the hell am I supposed to do with this!' _Shamariah thought furiously. Suddenly the little nut began to glow softly.

'_Throw me Shamariah,'_ a tiny little voice said in Shamariah's mind. Shamariah decided not to question the little thing and threw it at the advancing lizard. It flashed bright white light on impact of hitting the sand blinding the lizard and nearly blinding Shamariah.

She grumbled slightly as she reached into the sand trap with her hand and pulled the knife out from her shoe. With deadly accuracy she threw the knife and struck true as it pierced the lizard's heart.

Next she carefully reached into the sand trap and coaxed her foot out. As soon as she was free she found the Gerudo swords that she had accidentally dropped and she retrieved her knife from the slain beast's body.

She slowly continued on and carefully found her way through the loose sand traps and quicksand's. She encountered spirits here and there and found more horrific lizards.

She soon reached the halfway point. It was a small oasis. She drank gratefully from the small pool and let the fairies heal her wounds.

* * *

Link and Tetra had fallen into a shallow sleep as they watched the bowl and Mali was keeping a lazy watch on it.

They had all watched tensely when Shamariah had fallen into that sand trap with a Lizalfos ready to attack. Mali was the one who knew what the small little nut was and grew excited when Shamariah had pulled it from the pouch. It had been a Deku Nut and so they all breathed a sigh of relief after the near death encounter on Shamariah's part. She did well the rest of the way to the oasis.

Mali was thinking about what would happen when they returned to the Tower of Gods with the whole silver Triforce and thesix medallions. Kariah had told her to ring the bell on the tower but what would that do? What did the Goddess of Time really have planned for them? Was she leading her best friends into serious danger?

Mali shook Link and Tetra awake as Shamariah started out again on her journey.

* * *

After her rest Shamariah filled up one water flask and then she made sure that Mali's pouch was on her hip and her twin swords were on her back. Her knife was in her boot and her water satchel was across her shoulder. She could see the spirit cave where she knew the Iron Knuckle still waited patiently for her to come, even the past one hundred years.

She made her way in a zigzag pattern towards the cave and found that the spirits were leaving her alone. The leevers that roamed the desert sands were the only things that stood in her way of getting to the cave.

She quickly made her way across this part of the desert and soon found herself in front of the cave. Her hazel eyes steeled in determination and she entered the cave…

* * *

Mali's eyes widened in disbelief as the bowl actually shattered as soon as Shamariah disappeared into the cave.

"Hey! That was a good bowl!" Tetra cried in protest, as Link quietly chuckled at her outburst.

"I think this is where our challenge is issued," Link said quietly grabbing Mali and Tetra's attentions. Mali sent him a questioning look.

"We said that we would be with Shamariah in spirit as she went on this journey. I believe she can do it, we all do. But we've been watching her through a stone. After what I've seen I know she can do her task and that that old Iron Knuckle in there will give her a fair fight I believe that she will be successful. I also believe that when she comes out she will know that we have already passed her challenge and that was to believe in her," Link said thoughtfully.

"We are her family now, the only ties she has to her past is me really. But we are cheering her silently on as she completes her right of passage into being both a woman and a sage. She too has slept dormant and she wasn't able to complete her rite of passage into either. Her Gerudo sisters and her mother would have been cheering her on the whole way if they would have survived the attack from Ganondorf. I believe also that she can do it," Mali said equally quiet.

Tetra nodded and they all silently sent their prayers to the goddesses knowing and believing strongly that Shamariah would come out alive and well.

* * *

Shamariah eyes slowly adjusted to the dim torchlight as she took in her surroundings. The cave was the home of the solitary Iron Knuckle. She swallowed nervously before steeling herself to awaken the metal tin head.

Shamariah cautiously approached the sleeping Knuckle and drew her scimitars before awaking the Knuckle with a slash across its helmet. Immediately the Knuckle stood and began swinging its axe furiously. Shamariah sidestepped the swings and then did a quick roll behind the Knuckle.

She slashed quickly at his exposed back and found him swing around so fast that had she not ducked her head would have been rolling. She danced away from him again as she eyed him up and quickly contemplated the best moves to keep her head on her shoulders. He swung again and Shamariah dodged to her right.

'_It's almost as though he is getting smarter,_' Shamariah mused as she danced away from the axe yet again and issued another attack on its back before rolling away from the enemies defensive attack.

'_This is way tougher than it should be. But I must retrieve those arrows to defeat Twinrova!_' Shamariah thought desperately. She was starting to tire as she danced away again and attacked.

Suddenly something occurred to her. Kariah's pouch must have something in it to aid her. She moved as far away from the Knuckle who slowly followed her. She dug around in the pouch and pulled out something smooth and crystal like. A voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

This is a magic spell given to the Hero of Time by one of the Great Fairies in Hyrule long ago. It dispels any attack on your persona for a short period of time. Be forewarned however. Nayru's love will take away your magical strength slowly and it must be used with care…

Letting instinct guide her, Shamariah cast Nayru's Love and found herself encased in a flexible blue crystal. She could sense her magical being beginning to waver a bit. She dodged around the Knuckle again and sprinted to the other side of the room. She rummaged in the pack again and found that a sprite in a bottle. She quickly let the fairy out and immediately felt better.

She charged at the Iron Knuckle that wasn't expecting such a brutal assault. She leapt over its head and hit home as she finally cut the leather straps that were holding its armour to its body. She found her way right into the path of the Knuckle's axe but because of the spell she was only thrown back without any physical damage.

She quickly got to her feet because a Knuckle without its heavy armour on can move very quickly when angered enough. It came back at her in a hurry and she rolled away from its falling axe and was able to successfully slash its legs however she tripped and went sprawling onto her back. She suddenly noticed that the effects of the Nayru's spell had worn off and she was facing another attack from the Iron Knuckle.

The axe came down as Shamariah watched it coming at her as though it were in slow motion. She sensed that she would be dead in another couple of seconds he had her pinned with no where to escape and because she was flat on her back she was completely wide open until something came to her mind. He was close enough to her body she could cause the axe to swing to the side.

When faced with a man that has you pinned down on all sides and you are on your back. Kick him where it hurts to send a message to their slow brains.

Shamariah issued a kick to where a regular man would have his family jewels. It didn't do much but completely surprise the knuckle and the axe missed her as it hit the ground beside her.

Whether or not Iron Knuckles reproduced, it angered the thing beyond belief but in its momentary surprise it cost him. Shamariah was on her feet the instant she had kicked and her swords swiftly severed its head from its shoulders and the look of shock was forever etched in its clouded eyes. Shamariah moved away as the last remaining being of Ganondorf's original army fell to ground in a fiery heap as it slowly burned away.

A chest had magically appeared in the room and Shamariah found her way to it and she slowly opened it. Inside lay a single arrow that was tipped in silver. Taking it solemnly she turned around to find the spirits of the Rova twins.

"_So the little Gerudo Sage has passed her initiation,_" cackled Koume. Shamariah didn't even answer as she pulled a bow from Kariah's pouch and swiftly shot two arrows at the sisters. Their screams vibrated off the cavern walls as they surrendered the power of the sage spirit. The orange tendrils slowly approached the Spirit Sage.

_Welcome young sage. You have temporarily defeated Twinrova's spirit. Well done. Now your friends are still waiting for you._

Shamariah's hazel eyes widened as her peripheral was enhanced and she could see her three friends concentrating on being there in the final battle with her.

'_I suppose they have earned their prize_,' Shamariah thought wryly. She took a final look around and then she exited the cavern. Many spirits who gazed at her scornfully confronted her on her way out.

'_So the Sage of Spirit has returned to us. Are we free to move on?_' one young spirit asked. Shamariah looked into the eyes of one of her sisters.

'_Judgement is passed by the three goddesses and Kariah. You have my leave to confront them on your journey to the golden land where new adventures await thee,'_

The spirits quickly disappeared leaving Shamariah to walk back to her friends by herself.

* * *

Link, Tetra and Mali greeted her halfway down into the valley.

"We knew you could do it! Well done!" Tetra said enthusiastically. Shamariah smiled she could understand them perfectly now and decided to take a stab at the new language that was now a part of her.

"Thank you my friends. I was informed by my powers that you have rightfully earned the Spirit Medallion," Shamariah said softly.

"You're welcome Shamariah, we grew worried when we could no longer watch you through Tetra's crystal," Link said softly. Throughout the exchange Mali had stayed silent as she waited for Shamariah to address her.

"You have earned the Spirit Medallion and I give it to you now so we can solve Kariah's riddle," Shamariah said, performing the sage ritual to call upon her power in the form of the medallion. Mali received it thankfully and she placed it in its place upon the chest.

"We have one sage left to talk to and that is the Sage of the Forest. Isn't it odd that this whole adventure truly started after we spoke with the Deku Tree?" Mali asked softly as they made their way back to the ship. Link and Tetra nodded in agreement.

"We must head to the Forest Haven before we return to the others that are waiting for us at the Tower of Gods. They rushed back to the ship and with a warning to Shamariah from Mali, Link played the Ballad of Gales and they found themselves just off the island of the Koroks. Forest Haven.

Once there Mali and Link made their way up to see the Deku Tree to show him the almost complete riddle chest.

"Great Deku Tree, we come back to thee searching for the sixth sage and the one that should reside in your realm. The Forest Sage," Link said as they came up to the tree. The Deku Tree merely looked at them before another voice was heard, belonging to one of the Koroks.

"I am the Forest Sage and I know what you come seeking Hero of Winds and Time's descendant," It was Makar who spoke and approached them.

"I found out through the spirits of the forest how I am the sage, however my test for you, Mali is to tell me how I inherited the power of the forest as a well as the wind.

Mali went silent for a moment before she slowly answered.

"You were given both powers because you are a descendant of two sages. Saria the original Sage of Forest and Fado the Sage of Wind. Saria married a Kokiri boy known as Mido and had one child. Fado was both the Forest and Wind sage after Saria moved onto the golden land on new adventures. It is natural that when Fado made you his heir as the Wind Sage that you would also inherit the power of the Forest Sage," Mali said quietly.

"You have done well Times descendant, I give you the final medallion. The Forest Medallion," Mali received the medallion and she immediately placed it in its place on the top of the riddle chest.

They all glowed softly as well as the completed silver Triforce and a small compartment on the front of the chest revealed to them another piece of parchment.

Time's descendant, ring the bell upon the tower to speak with my kin and complete your quest for knowledge.

"Well, that's pretty straightforward. It is time to go to the Tower of Gods," Link said as he said good-bye to the Deku Tree and the Hero of Winds and Time's Descendant along with the new Forest Sage returned to the _Golden Eagle_ where Shamariah and Tetra awaited their return…

**

* * *

Imagine that I finally got the chapter up! I'm sorry to those who have waited for soo long. I suffered serious writers block and a lack of inspiration along with a busy life that doesn't seem to slow down long enough for me to catch up.**

**I promise to have the next chapter up soon though because the next chapters are the ones that I have been waiting to write since the beginning of the story. I just can't wait to get started. Anyway drop off a review and I will definitely be sure to update much quicker. **

**Kariah**


	13. A Time Long Gone

A Time Long Gone

The first person to greet the group once they arrived back at the Tower of Gods was Aryll. She jumped at her brother who hugged her tightly.

"I missed you Big Brother," Aryll said with a giggle as she reverted to their childish nicknames. Link merely grinned and set her back on the ground. Nevina, Dimitri, Medli, Impa, and Aekorra greeted Shamariah and Makar with smiles and happiness.

"So, all of us have assembled again after a hundred years of waiting. Well done Descendant of Time," Impa said sombrely.

"There is one thing left to do, and that is ring the bell upon this tower," Shamariah said softly. Hesitation grew in Mali's eyes as she glanced between the others.

"You're not sure you want to?" Medli asked quietly. Mali nodded as she glanced at Link.

"I think Kariah left this chest behind for a reason. I believe that whatever is in the chest will change our lives forever and I'm not sure I want that. What if it puts us all in danger?" Mali asked, her calm façade that had lasted through the whole journey was slowly breaking down.

Link found his way to her side.

"Don't you dare give up now! Kariah made this box to protect something and we are destined to figure out what it is she is protecting. You brought the six sages back together so that we can all start a new life. Don't deny what you have been destined to do Mali," Link said lowly and only to her.

"But Link, what will happen to me, what will happen to all of you? I'm scared," Mali said softly. Link smiled softly before replying.

"Sea flower, we'll walk onto that bridge when we step foot upon it. I think we all wish to see what will happen once you ring the bell. After all, when I was recognized by the tower as a true hero worthy of the Master Sword that lay dormant in Hyrule Castle, it opened a pathway into the land locked in time. Mysterious things happen here and I can't wait to find out what it is," Link said, excitement entering his voice and Mali saw something different in him.

She saw that the adolescence that he was when he started on his own quest two years previous was still there and yearning for more adventure out there on the horizon where the sea greeted the sun at dawn and dusk.

She slowly gave in and nodded before heaving a big sigh and placing her hand in Link's as he lead them up to the tapestry room for a bit of a break and rest before finishing what they had set out to do.

All of the sages gazed in wonder as they looked at the tapestry and its depicted history.

"It's so big and amazing," Shamariah said softly as she observed Ganondorf's birth. All of a sudden she paled as she noticed something else.

"That's Dragmire!" She stated in alarm and Mali was at her side in an instance.

"Nabooru and Ganondorf were siblings," Impa said calmly causing the whole group to gasp in astonishment minus Mali.

"Shamariah Lania Nabooru Dragmire, you are a cousin to Ganondorf but more importantly you are Nabooru's granddaughter. Nabooru fought Ganondorf till his sealing and she was never on his side and that is something to be proud of," Impa continued some personal feeling entering her voice.

Mali watched with Impa with her bright emerald eyes before glancing back at the tapestry that revealed much but left so much in the dark at the same time.

"Nabooru was a great friend to the Hero of Time, he trusted her and we have no reason not to trust Shamariah. She is the daughter of the great wolf thief and that we must honour. She is just as much a sage as Medli or Dimitri," Mali said softly, grabbing everyone's attention and Impa nodded in agreement. It stopped any further argument towards the girl.

"I agree with Mali, she had no choice and this is coming from Queen Zelda's descent so enough and I think that it's high time we head to the top of the tower. We may have much more to do," Tetra said briskly taking the lead to the top of the tower. Slowly the six sages followed her. Link held back waiting for Mali.

"Mali?" Link asked coming up to her. She faintly smiled before picking up the box at her feet and following Link and the others up the stairs that led to the top of the tower where the bell rested.

They formed themselves in order around the bell with Link and Tetra just inside the circle and Mali carefully stepped up to the platform directly under the bell. Link went to give her his grappling hook but she merely shook her head. Nevina began chanting something in the Old Hyrulian. Makar began next followed by Dimitri, Medli, Impa, and Shamariah, each saying something different in a several languages long forgotten. Mali seemed to be listening to the chanting sages before beginning to also say something that Link nor Tetra could understand.

"_I am Mali Arya Kariah, the descendant of Time's daughter, I stand beneath the bell atop the divine tower in Hyrule. I call thy sisters, the creators and keepers of Hyrule. A Goddess of Power whose arms cultivated and sculpted Hyrule's red earth from the power in her fiery arms. A Goddess of Wisdom, who created the laws and divine beauty of the land itself. A Goddess of Courage, who created all life forms that upheld Wisdom's Law. As for the timekeeper I call thy name to call thy sisters. Kariah!_" Mali chanted and a golden rope appeared attached to the bell.

Mali took the golden rope in her hands as silence ensued atop the tower. Her emerald eyes found Link's and held them for a moment before she gripped the rope tighter and leapt into the air causing the bell to sing.

_Not far from the Tower of Gods, the pearls of the goddess were resting in their placeholders and they slowly came to life. All of a sudden from the northwest, the southwest and the east, three rays of light illuminated and then simultaneously sped towards the divine tower._

Mali let go of the rope in awe, as the three goddesses appeared to stand on the parapet of the tower.

"Mali, you have done well to complete Kariah's riddle," Din spoke her ruby eyes sharp and prideful.

"A feat that most would have given up upon, well done," Farore said quietly looking at her Triforce bearer.

"You have great wisdom for one your age Mali, you have earned your right and will speak with your ancestor soon. We give you our pearls to have and to hold for they are also a representation of your destiny Mali. Kariah will tell you more about it when you find her. Or rather she finds you," Nayru spoke softly.

"The riddle called them the Keys to Time's Realm, does that have something to do with it?" Mali asked quietly, over her shock. She glanced at everyone in the room. All of the sages had fallen to the floor in a bow and Link and Tetra stood with Aryll and Aekorra behind them whom all had a bit of shock on their faces to see the divine goddesses.

"It does young one, but that is for Kariah to answer. She often sees things in the future. After all time is her passion and world," Din said sharply.

Mali nodded and the three goddesses placed the pearls in their place on the lid of the riddle chest.

"Recite the riddle please Mali," Farore requested.

The silver pieces of Gold

The power of Sages old

The Keys of Time's Realm

The melody of Helm

The treasure of Harkinian

Mali said in a clear voice. The three goddesses slowly opened the chest for Mali and withdrew a sacred instrument.

"That's the Ocarina of Time!" Mali gasped. Impa and the rest of the sages all looked up at the blue porcelain ocarina.

"This is the treasure of Harkinian, it belonged to Queen Zelda I and was played by the Hero of Time. The melody is your final key to speak with Kariah. She told us to give you a hint…"

_Recover the melody on the embroidery story where wickedness smites radiance and the prayer of aid has ascended to the celestial divinity. _

With another clue bestowed upon the group, the goddesses sang their final goodbye as they returned to the divine realm.

All watched them go as the goddesses left and with a sigh Mali sat down heavily on the pedestal she had been standing on beneath the bell.

"Does anyone else have a headache," Mali complained. The group laughed lightly and Link came up behind her.

"It'll go away once we finish this task," Link said, gently kissing her forehead. Mali merely sighed as she caught Tetra's furious look.

"Well, I suppose we start at the beginning. It's a rather simple hint though. The embroidery story is the tapestry downstairs. We might as well head down there now," Mali said shedding light on the first half of the hint. The others all nodded in agreement.

Aryll was the first one to the tapestry. She muttered the verse under her breath, "Where wickedness smites radiance and a prayer of aid ascends the celestial divinity."

Aryll instinctively found herself towards the end of the tapestry where the story cut off and started a whole new chronicle on the waters of the world, as she knew it. The sages, Mali, Link and Tetra found their way down and were watching Aryll curiously.

"Aryll, what are you doing?" Link enquired as he watched his little sister.

"I'm looking for where wickedness smites radiance like right here. Mali what does it mean?" Aryll asked pointing to a peculiar section on the tapestry.

Mali strode over to look at the tapestry and a funny look passed through her eyes.

"This is where Ganondorf escaped from the Sacred Realm and turned his army against the races of Hyrule. In otherwise evil strikes good and wins temporarily. Legend has it that when Ganondorf cornered the King of Hyrule and a few of his servants including his young daughter, they prayed to the goddesses to send help in the form of the Hero of Time. The hero never showed and only legend knows what happened to the king and his daughter and the servants that prayed with them. This is exactly where the goddesses directed us," Mali said calmly pointing out the places on the tapestry.

Something suddenly occurred to Link, something that Mali had said that persuaded him to allow Aryll to come with them on the journey in the first place.

"You knew that Aryll would be needed when we started this quest to unlock the secrets of the chest. You knew," Link said softly looking at Mali and Aryll simultaneously.

"You could say that Link, but it's not completely true. I sensed that we would need her help. I didn't know what for or what she is still needed for. I am the descendant of Kariah who has the ability to look down the River of Time and foresee events before they happen. I can just sense things not actually see them," Mali said calmly gauging Link's reaction.

Link didn't know how to react. He wasn't sure if he liked destiny controlling him or not and so he promptly didn't react at all other than to sigh and glare moodily at the tapestry.

"Where is the melody on the tapestry?" Nevina asked ignoring Link and directing her question to Mali. Mali frowned as she turned her attention back to the tapestry.

"It's here, look, the princess is singing a song and the notes are leaving her mouth. There's some Hyrulian text beneath the notes. I can't read them," Aryll declared as she showed Mali where she found them on the tapestry. Link came over and inspected the notes and text as well.

"What does it say?" Link asked as the other sages gathered around curiously.

"It says; _Bring chaos to calm with the song of the realm in the sonata of Helm._ Helm must have been a person whom composed the song. Anyone know how to read music," Mali asked, more specifically looking at the oldest sage present, Impa.

"That melody is only known by one person, Tetra is the princess from long ago when the King and his servants were trapped in the throne room of the castle," Impa said, her crimson graze looking on Tetra's sapphire one.

Tetra was definitely startled but she looked at the tapestry and was surprised to note that she could indeed read the music and if she had to she could sing it.

"I don't understand, isn't Mali supposed to play the song on the Ocarina of Time?" Tetra asked somewhat confused.

"I can play the ocarina, but I don't know how to read the music written in the language of the goddesses. That is why you must sing it so I can imitate it on the ocarina," Mali explained to the confused Tetra. Tetra looked at the tapestry again before closing her sapphire eyes and summoning a memory locked in a time long gone.

Her voice slowly sang out the melody of the song and Mali began to clumsily play it on the ocarina. Soon though she began to remember the way that her grandmother had taught her and slowly the right notes and melody came to accompany the princess.

Together, Tetra and Mali created the song that would summon Kariah, the Goddess of Time.

_Somewhere across the dimensions Kariah felt the pull of the Ocarina of Time played by Mali Arya. She made with all haste to the call of her Ocarina._

Tetra and Mali finished the song and looked at each other with a new understanding. Something had passed through the spirit of the girls and they knew that all would be well for the both of them no matter what. They looked at the solemn faces of the people around them and felt despair. The call hadn't worked and nothing seemed to change.

"Fear not, she will come. Did it occur to anyone that maybe she isn't anywhere near Hyrule?" Nevina said levelly causing everyone to look at the young Sage of Light. She shifted uncomfortably but held her ground.

"The tapestry depicts a time shortly after Kariah repaired time after the battle for Hyrule. Her sisters went on to create other lands such as Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum and many other worlds. Kariah would have had to set time in those worlds too. She could be quite far from here…" Nevina was cut off by another voice.

"Not as far as you think young sage," a fond voice interrupted her. Everyone looked at the woman standing casually against a pillar in the room.

She had pale blue eyes and silver hair. It was in gentle curls down to her waist and her skin was very pale. Her simple dress flowed gently to the floor and was the colour of snow.

Mali came towards the woman and found herself in the wise depths of the glacial coloured eyes of the goddess.

"Milady, welcome home to Hyrule. We have solved the riddle box and have recovered the Ocarina of Time," Mali said hesitantly as she held the powerful ocarina to the rightful owner. In all truths, Mali was trembling in slight fear of this goddess. Link found his way to her side when he noticed this, as did Tetra.

Kariah glanced at the ocarina briefly before looking back into Mali's emerald eyes.

"You have no need to fear me Mali Arya," Were Kariah's only words before looking at the sages present as well as Aryll whom was standing beside Shamariah in awe. Kariah's eyes caught hold of Impa's as a small grin graced the goddess's features.

"Impa, it is a pleasure to see you again my friend," Kariah said coming to Impa and embracing the normally indifferent Sheikah.

"Likewise Kari, I will never forget the sight of you and the Hylian army coming out of the mountains to save all of our hides when we fought Ganondorf," Impa said fondly as she returned the embrace.

This act seemed to cause the party to relax and begin talking amongst themselves but it was Mali who confronted Kariah next.

"Kariah, might I asked what the purpose of our quest was? Why did you send us a way to call you forth?" Mali asked taking a seat next to the goddess.

Link and Tetra had found their way over to the goddess and were also ready to ask their questions.

Kariah gave a small smile at their curious nature. Instead of answering she asked Mali to give her the Ocarina of Time.

"There is a story, one that all must know so that Hyrule may not fall again. I knew a day would come when the Princess of the Seas and the Hero of Winds, would seek a place to rebuild Hyrule. So in order for these events to occur I knew you would need to learn the truth about Hyrule and what happened a mere seven years ago," Kariah said gravely, causing those to young to know any better to become confused. Impa and Mali were the only ones that had a slight idea what was to come.

Kariah gently placed the ocarina upon her lips and played a song that echoed hauntingly across the stones in the tapestry room…

**Well, another chapter down and now its up to my reviewers to voice an opinion for the next chapters. I would like to know what I should do. I want to know if Kariah should explain the story without interruptions where I create a story in a story or have her quickly explain giving only key parts of the story. It is up to you. **

**Now I would greatly appreciate these reviews because I was fairly disappointed with amount of reviews for the last chapter. Please please please review. Thank you to the ones that did review and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to reply to your reviews. **

**Please let me know what to do with the rest of the story lol. Long or short. Anyway toodles**

**Kariah**


	14. The Legends Long Forgotten

The Legend Long Forgotten

_From the power of the Ocarina of Time, Kariah shows Hyrule's descendants a time where there was no hope left and families were broken apart._

* * *

Two Zoran teenagers played along the banks of Zora's River. Ruban and his young love, Taya, were to be married the next day. They were enjoying a moment of peace away from wedding plans that were being organized by the Queen Nakia and her sister Shasa. It was a royal honour for the Queen to marry a young couple. It was a new tradition, started by the deceased Queen Ruto.

"Ruban, what do you think marriage will be like?" Taya asked her violet eyes slightly nervous. Ruban chuckled slightly as he looked at his pretty bride to be.

"Taya, it will be great and you will bear many Zora eggs and we will have many young. Our future is bright my love," Ruban said reassuringly. She smiled softly.

Unbeknownst to the couple, two Hylian hunters were quietly hunting them. From behind a stonewall they watched the male and female Zoran bows drawn.

Taya laughed lightly at the joke Ruban had just told her. Suddenly, Ruban went rigid as an arrow went clean through his neck. Taya cried out in shock but it was cut short as an identical arrow struck true. Both Zoran were killed instantly.

* * *

A small songbird carefully hidden saw the whole killing and vigilantly flew off to inform the Queen Zora.

* * *

Queen Nakia could be found with two other female Zora. Her sister Shasa and Shasa's daughter Misu were carefully inspecting the decorations for the wedding for Taya and Ruban.

"Shasa, do you think we need more symbolic fish bones?" Nakia asked, frowning at one particular decoration design. Shasa glanced at the pretty design that was on the wall behind where the young couple would receive the queen's blessing.

"No, I think it needs more of the rainbow plant found beneath Jabu Jabu in the fountain. Misu would you go and get some for us please?" Shasa said, sending her daughter on her way to swim to the bottom of the fountain.

"Queen Nakia, there is a small bird that is anxiously waiting to speak to you," a male Zoran guard said, entering the room with the small songbird sitting stiffly on his hand.

"Thank you Dax," Nakia said, dismissing the Zora as the bird flew up and landed on one of the decorations.

"Milady, news foreboding bring I. My nest is down yon river where thee wedded to be couple playing along thy banks saw I and peaceful all was. Out of nowhere come Hylian hunters two. Dead them kill they did. Sorry am I Milady," the bird trilled in its strange use of the Hylian tongue.

Nakia and Shasa both looked at each other in shock.

"You're saying that Taya and Ruban are dead at the hands of two Hylian hunters?" Nakia asked in shock, not quite believing it to be true.

"Death together, in now thee care of Goddesses three," she trilled again and then she took the air, back to her nest down river from Zora's Domain.

Misu had just caught the whole conversation as she was coming in from the fountain. Rainbow leaves were dropped as the shocking news came to her.

"Mother, is it true!" Misu asked, her violet eyes flashing in anger. Shasa and Nakia looked at Misu as she stood in shock in the doorway.

Nakia swallowed before giving truth to what Misu just heard. Taya was Misu's best friend and they were closer than sisters.

"Yes Misu, Taya and Ruban were killed only a little while ago by two Hylian hunters along our banks," Nakia said aggrieved. Misu's face paled and a look of horror crossed her eyes as she turned and ran out of the room. The news spread quickly throughout the domain.

"Sister, our brothers and sisters will be outraged. We must meet them in the throne room," Nakia spoke, panic beginning to rise in her voice. Shasa ignored her sister, her violet eyes swirling with anger. Shasa left the room leaving her fair sister to deal with her people.

* * *

The two hunters that had slain the young Zoran couple proudly showed the Zora pelts to gaping people at a merchant stand in Hyrule City's market place. The blue scales glittered in the sunlight gathering the awe of the ladies.

A Hylian guard was passing by the stand when the pelts caught his eye. He carefully examined the pelt and nearly dropped it in shock. It was a Zora pelt of the loyal race. He left the stand and hurried to gather some more guards knowing he himself wouldn't be able to arrest the two hunters by himself.

The hunters were bartering prices for the Zora pelts as four Hylian guards approached the stand, pushing people out of their way. They surrounded the stand, making way for no escape for the two hunters.

"You two men, you have slain the Zora whom are under protection of the king and our allies. You are under arrest for such horrific offence," Sir Cheve of the order commanded signalling for his fellow officers to bind the two perpetrators.

The two hunters smirked arrogantly as they evaluated the situation.

"We are under no such law, we do not come from Hyrule and therefore you have no law over us," one said the smirk not leaving his face. It abruptly disappeared as an arrow ended his life. The guards looked around and saw a woman with brilliant fire red hair standing aggressively with another arrow notched on her bow.

"Any offence against the Zora is an offence against the rest of us," She said dangerously, "whether we are of Zoran, Sheikah, Gerudo, or Hylian blood."

"Lania, that wasn't necessary," Cheve said as one of his fellow guards was able to bind the other hunter.

"Lania, there you are," another Gerudo woman said coming up behind the group.

"Arya, two Zora have been killed because of two foreigners. Arya's golden eyes darkened slightly as she looked the young man that was still alive.

"Take the news to the king, the Zora will be very angry about this and I have no doubt that they will turn against such an outrageous insult. Not to mention grief," Arya added coldly. Cheve nodded and they took the man to the castle.

Arya and Lania stayed in the market and took the Zora pelts from the stand. Wordlessly they climbed to a special hideout that was situated by the Hero of Time himself in his days of stealing and pilfering just to live.

"Arya, should we take these to the Zora?" Lania asked softly. Arya didn't reply as she looked out and frowned.

"I don't think it wise, there is going to be major conflict from now on. Nakia won't be able to control her people and steer them away from revenge especially if Shasa is set on it. Everything seems to be unsettled since King Link and Queen Zelda. Destiny did well but her early death has put a very young king on the throne," Arya said, her eyes worried and unsure.

"I feel that something bad will happen. The ancient sages have all died out and the Sheikah haven't been seen in a hundred years. Since Queen Zelda, they have disappeared," Lania said, pondering. In fact I can't say as I've seen any Sheikah besides Impa since the war that King Link, Queen Zelda, and Kariah fought against Ganondorf.

"We are too old to be remembering that Lania, that was ages and ages ago, I guess we are a superior race in living much much longer than the Hylians, " Arya said wryly.

"If we didn't we would have died out long before now," Lania sighed. The survival of their race had become to depend on the Gerudo moving out of the desert and taking up residence in Hyrule City. However the suspicious Hylians made it hard for the Gerudo to reproduce and survive because of their distinctiveness.

"Nabooru never named a sage to take her place did she?" Arya asked quietly. Lania only shook her head, "My mother never named an heir but her line through me is the only surviving one. As far as I know all of my sisters and their daughters have gone with the others to the golden realm. We are far and few my sister. Maybe somewhere else our people managed to survive."

Arya merely nodded as they made their way to their shack of a home. Hyrule was definitely struggling…

* * *

King Daphnes was listening to his counsel when the door opened with Cheve in the lead with the struggling foreigner.

"Sorry to interrupt your Majesty but this man and another killed two Zoran youth and made their pelts into shirts. This is a serious offence and one that won't be taken lightly by the Zora. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already taking action my lord," Cheve said, sapphire eyes grave.

"Dungeon him for now, we will discuss what is to be done with the Zora now. They will definitely not be pleased. We must dispatch messengers at once. Sir Cheve, you have been there on numerous occasions, would you like to go?" Daphnes asked.

Cheve nodded as he patiently waited for Daphnes to write a letter of apology to the Zora. Daphnes handed him a sealed parchment scroll. He tucked it in his jerkin and with a bow to his older Cousin in Law; he left the room with two trusted soldiers.

* * *

Nakia and Shasa stood in front of the outraged Zora. There was much yelling and screaming and general confusion. Nakia's violet eyes gazed sternly out at her people. Being the first born child had been a tough toil on Nakia but she knew how to rule her people and she had come up with an idea that would satisfy just about all of the Zora.

She held up a hand and a stern gaze and eventually the Zora settled down enough to listen.

"Zora, we have been violated by the Hylian race and thus a crime of utmost importance. Two young Zoran have been killed, Taya and Ruban were killed two days ago…"

"We want revenge on the those lost!" an aggressive young male demanded from the crowd.

"You may have that revenge, but at a cost," Nakia said, silencing the crowd once more. A look of confusion ran through the crowd. She eyed them sternly before continuing.

"Now, I have set up a compromise. I know that some of you are still loyal to the King and me and the rest of you would like to defy the King and his people. I cannot and will not stop you from making that choice. But you will pay the price. If you have a sister or brother that is loyal to me, you won't see us. We are leaving to a location unknown. I cannot watch you defile the king and his people so Shasa is now your queen. Take them Shasa and get your revenge, the rest that wish to follow me will remain here and we will leave on short notice. Messengers have been sent to our brethren in Holodrum, Labrynna, and Termina as well as Laruto of the Earth," Nakia said, turning away from her people.

Shasa gravely looked at her sister before looking back at the murmuring crowd. I forbid anyone to judge my sister and our brothers and sisters that follow her. One day we may meet again but that is up to our descendants. Those following me we are going to attack the Hylians from the water but we are by no means walking the earth. To the river," Shasa commanded sending out her followers.

"Good luck Nakia, see you at the golden gates where we will meet again my sister," Shasa said, giving her sister a farewell nod before following the others.

Nakia looked at the twenty Zora that had stayed behind with her. Her son Aderyn and Laruto's husband and her daughter, Maina were among them.

"We leave for the mountains," was all Nakia said as they set out on their journey.

* * *

Two young children were playing beside a humble house on one of the side streets in Hyrule City.

"Come on Aryll, Mother said we could go and buy some Lon Lon Milk from Malon!" The blonde haired youth said tugging on his five year old sister's arm.

"Link! Let go," Aryll giggled. She pulled free and turned to run from him but ran smack into a soldier. Link was trying very hard to keep a straight face as little Aryll looked up the length of the soldier's body and met the stern eyes of the soldier. She trembled slightly as the soldier bent down to look more closely at her.

"Link, I think we've got a code 543 repeat, code 543. I think she is guilty. What say you?" The soldier said, turning twinkling sapphire eyes to the boy who was almost ready to burst out laughing.

Link went to reply but couldn't and fell into a heap of giggles. The soldier shook his head and looked back to Aryll.

"I think he has code 276, do you know what that is my little Lil?" The soldier asked her.

"No Father? What is it?" Aryll asked eagerly waiting for her father's reply. He grinned and whispered something in her ear. She started giggling and caused Link to stop laughing and suspiciously look at his father.

"What did you tell her!" Link demanded mock glaring at his sister and father in good humour.

"Hmm, if you tell her what code 543 is then she will tell you what 276 is," He grinned.

"Fine," Link sighed, "it means small girl on the run." Aryll giggled slightly, "Yours means gut busting boy laughing." Link grinned at her and she giggled back.

"Link, Aryll, I told you to go and get milk from Malon, she won't be in town much longer. What are you doing…" A beautiful woman with blonde hair tied in a knot and blue eyes came out of the door and on sight of her husband she glared.

"So you are the problem," She said mock severely. By now Link and Aryll were laughing almost uncontrollably.

"Children, go mind your mother. She needs that milk and Malon will be leaving town soon. I've a few things to discuss with her," Their father said, playtime over and the sternness that was part of him came back. Link and Aryll quieted and both said at the same time, "yes sir."

They both ran off to the town square where they would find the great granddaughter of Malon Lon selling her milk.

"Cheve, you're home early," his wife commented as Cheve greeted her with a tender kiss.

"I know Brea, I wanted to tell you what is going on before I go to Zora's Domain. A couple of Zoran teens were killed on the banks of Zora's River close to Zora's Domain two days ago. Foreigners killed them and now the Zora are likely going to be rebellious. I must go and apologize for Daphnes before they get out of hand," Cheve said gravely, his sapphire eyes stormy.

"The Zora are such a proud race," Brea murmured worriedly. Cheve smiled softly and planted another kiss on her worried lips.

"Don't worry my love, I promise I'll be home in a couple of days, and if not, Link will look after you, Aryll and Eowyn," Cheve added darkly.

Brea smiled softly at the mention of her children.

"Stay safe my love, I know you will come back to us," Brea said softly, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks.

"Take care of yourselves," Cheve said holding her tightly and kissed the tears away. She caught his mouth with hers and he deepened the kiss. He slowly let her go and turned his back to her and gave a deep whistle. A roan stallion appeared and Cheve mounted the beautiful animal.

He looked back on his beautiful wife who was joined by her mother Eowyn on the door landing. He gave her a determined final nod and through her tears Brea gave him a brave smile and a wave.

* * *

His two hand picked companions joined Cheve as they made their way through the town to the bridge that led from Hyrule City out onto Hyrule Plains.

They had first gone straight south and then began veering to the east to get to the river without walking beside it the whole way and with good reason too. As they approached the river, Cheve

"Sir Cheve, look in the water," One of his companions, Cael, said pointing to a shiny animal in the water. The head of a Zora appeared and opened its mouth firing a ball of fire straight at the three men. The horses were singed causing them to panic.

Another Zora appeared and breathed another ball of fire hitting Cael and burning him badly. Cheve dismounted and threw his reins to the other soldier and using his shield Cheve made it to Cael's side. His breathing was seriously laboured and with a quick heave Cheve lifted Cael and made a run for it.

"Kade! Get the horses away from the water!" Cheve roared as he jogged steadily on away from the river bearing Cael's weight. Kade bade his captain's orders and struggled with the roan stallion and his own mount to get them away from the water. Another fireball came from another direction of the river and hit Cheve squarely in his side.

With a grunt of pain Cheve collapsed with Cael on top of him. The roan stallion broke free of Kade and ran to his master's side. Kade was out of range now of the fire but his captain, comrade and the stallion were still in range.

* * *

Shasa watched the fallen Hylians. One Zoran beside her was getting ready to send fire at the roan stallion.

"Leave the horse. They aren't Hylian creatures and thus we won't attack him," Shasa said firmly. They turned to swim away but something caught Shasa's eye at the last moment. The fierce sapphire eyes of Cheve bore into Shasa as he summoned the strength to half raise himself.

Shasa couldn't help but recognize the soldier as Sir Cheve. A great friend to the Zora and she could feel his remorse and sadness. She broke the stare and followed her brethren back up the river.

* * *

Kade swiftly dismounted his horse and carefully approached his comrades. Cheve's side was badly burnt and starting to ooze. Cael wasn't much better. He had been hit several times and was bleeding in many places. Kade kept an eye on the river as he carefully placed Cheve and Cael on the back of the stallion before leading them to safety.

It took Kade two days to return to Hyrule City and when he did Cheve and Cael were barely alive due to the infections. His first stop was to deliver Cheve to Brea.

* * *

Brea was cooking a small meal for lunch when the front door was kicked open revealing Kade carrying Cheve.

"I'm sorry for barging in Brea, but Cheve…" Kade was interrupted by Brea's gasp but she quickly came to her senses and motioned to the bed.

"Cael is also in need of medical help Brea. He is worse than Cheve. I did the best I could on the journey back here. The Zora attacked ruthlessly. Cheve was hit trying to save Cael," Kade explained briefly while placing Cheve in the bed.

"Thank you for bringing him to me. I will do what I can for Cael bring him in as well," Brea said briskly while putting a pot of water on to boil.

Kade brought Cael into the house and laid him on a waiting straw tick mattress.

"Link and Aryll are coming I saw them running while I was bringing Cael in," Kade informed Brea. She nodded and continued to remove Cael's tunic and hose. His upper body and legs were blistered and raw with burn.

"Mother! What happened to Father?" Aryll asked in a small voice, confused and scared.

"He will be okay Aryll. He is just got burnt really badly in a fire saving Cael from it. Don't worry honey. I need you to be a big girl and fetch Grandma. She went to the market earlier to find some cloth. Tell her to bring bandage cloth. Link can I please get your help son?" Brea asked turning to her oldest.

Link solemnly nodded as he approached his mother.

"Good, can you reach into that cupboard and reach my special salve. I need to put it on these burns," Brea said, moving next to Cheve and also removing his clothes to find the burns sustained by her love.

"I will leave you to care for them, I must send word to his majesty. I will check in soon Brea," Kade said bowing to Brea and leaving the room.

Link carefully placed the jar of salve beside his mother. She nodded silently in thanks and she moved back to the fire to take off the hot water. She dipped a clean cloth in it and began cleaning Cheve's wound. Link watched her intently as her skilled hands as a healer carefully cleaned the blood and dirt away from the raw skin.

She then moved to Cael's side and began to clean his wounds. She couldn't put the salve on until Eowyn and Aryll returned with the wound bandages.

"Mother, why is Father so hot?" Link asked curiously. He had a small hand on his father's arm.

"He has a fever Link. I will give him some medicine as soon as I get those burns covered," Brea explained patiently. She placed her cloth beside Link as she went to stoke the fire up again.

Link took the cloth in his hands and began to gently rub a bleeding spot on Cheve's side. Brea smiled softly as she saw Link looking after his father.

Eowyn and Aryll hurried down the street to the house. They came upon the scene of Brea showing Link the proper way to move the cloth across broken skin.

"Thank goodness you're back. We have to get them under blankets as soon as possible," Brea said thankfully grabbing some cloth from Eowyn and hurridly going to Cael's side. She slathered salve on every inch of broken skin on Cael's burnt body. Then she carefully wrapped the bandaging snugly on every inch of skin. He looked ready for burial but Eowyn quickly covered him with two thick blankets that were used for winter.

The same attention was given to Cheve but only his side was bound. Brea had carefully placed warm pants on Cheve and then piled the blankets on him as well. Link and Aryll had watched their mother work in silence before Aryll ventured to ask.

"Mother, will Father be okay?" Aryll asked timidly. Brea gave her a tired smile and nodded.

"Come here, both of you," Brea said, hugging both of her children.

"Father will be okay I promise he will wake up. Don't worry, now we wait and watch over him," Brea said softly, sitting gratefully in a chair.

"What will happen now?" Link asked looking solemnly at his father.

"I don't know Link, I don't know," Brea said quietly.

Eowyn wordlessly sat beside the family and said a silent prayer to Farore.

"_Take care of them Lady Farore…"_

* * *

**Another chapter down. I hope you all enjoyed this change of scenery. I enjoyed writing this chapter and I'm sorry for the long wait but there was much to sort out and school likes to impede, but here it is and I hope to see long reviews wink wink**

**I hope i didn't confuse anyone and I hope to update again soon but I make no promises. Until next time may Farore watch over all.**

Kariah


	15. The Rain Falls

The Rain Falls

Shasa's Zoran gathered along the banks by the great waterfall that flowed from the top of Zora's Fountain. Each Zora held a small token of the two Zoran that had been slain on the riverbanks. Placing these tokens in Deku wood bowls; they set them adrift down the river to a final resting place at Lake Hylia. With a sorrowful heart, Shasa sent the Zora off down the river. Shasa and Misu retreated back to the domain where Misu's own Zora eggs weren't doing so well.

"I just don't understand mother, why are they so sickly. They are all here and they should be healthy…" Misu trailed off in sorrow. Shasa didn't have the answer either.

"Do you think the Hylian professor at the Marine Laboratory down at the lake would still look at them?" Misu asked, worry in her voice. Shasa looked at her daughter gravely.

"How do you propose you are going to get down to that laboratory? The Lost Door no longer exists. You will have to go across Hyrule Field and with no water. You will never make it and you can't swim under the castle. It isn't worth your life.

"Is anything worth life anymore? I don't care what happens to me anymore as long as these children of mine will have the chance to live. They deserve that. The reason I didn't go with Aunty Nakia was because I couldn't leave these babies behind. Now I have to make sure they get a chance to live healthily," Misu said determinedly. Shasa held deep respect for her daughter as she said those brave words.

"You feel the world is unbalanced as well don't you," she said quietly to her distressed daughter.

"I know it is, something is not right in this realm. I feel as though something bad will happen. But that is all the more reason for me to get my children to the laboratory. They may be safer there than here," Misu said quietly.

"Are you taking anyone with you?" Shasa asked. Misu hesitated before saying, "Mother, I want you to come with me. You know more about raising young eggs then I do, please come with me," She said softly. Shasa considered it thoughtfully for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement. She would go with her.

"Go and get them ready, we must leave as soon as a we can and we will travel during the night to avoid detection by the Hylians," Shasa said briskly.

* * *

It had been several weeks since the Zora had attacked Cheve and his two men on the riverbank. Cheve, well on his way to recovery, had begun playing little games with Link and Aryll. Cael, however was suffering severely. Once he was fairly stable the Hylian guards came for him and placed his life in the hand of the castle doctors rather than burdening Brea. 

Ever since the attack the whole city had been uneasy. The attacks seemed to foretell a bad omen and all the Hylian folk sensed the dark aura that seemed to pervade the air. Even Link, Aryll, and other children of the city could sense the unease in the adults. Things were not right in Hyrule.

"Father, why is everyone so um, worried?" Link asked softly while they had sat down for the evening meal.

"I don't know son, everything feels unsettled in this realm. The attack on the Zora and the counterattack has people uneasy. I think that we have a right to be paranoid son. Only a hundred and fifty years ago the great Ganondorf had struck Hyrule. Who says there isn't another out there with the same power," Cheve told his family. Eowyn and Brea both furrowed their brows at Cheve.

"Quit giving them the threat of a bed time story Cheve. We all know that the Sages of legend long ago locked him in the far off realm," Brea said calmly which Cheve gently scoffed at.

"I'm not making a bed time story Brea and you know it," Cheve said quietly, "There are descendents of the sages alive and you know it."

"What are sages Papa?" Aryll asked in her small voice. Cheve smiled kindly at his daughter.

"They are special people Aryll. They are very familiar with the elements of their title. For example, the Water Sage is likely someone very into water. Anyway they are granted a special magic and it makes them a protector of Hyrule. There are six protectors of Hyrule, and two of the fabled Master Sword," Cheve said, chuckling slightly at the widened eyes of both children.

"How do you know all that Father?" Link asked with surprise in his young voice.

"Your Grandmother told the tale to me when I was a young boy and your mother when she was a small girl. I used to visit your mom's family and hear the stories and legends. They are all fascinating…"

"Grandma Eowyn! You have to tell us some of your stories!" Aryll cried out interrupting her father. Eowyn gave her granddaughter a small smile.

"I might if things settle down. Those stories have a certain amount of fact in them and could be used should there be enemies abroad. I will when Hyrule is safe again. For now I want you children to remember not to repeat those stories. It could endanger your lives," Eowyn said guardedly and firmly.

_

* * *

Unbeknownst to her daughter and grandchildren, Eowyn guarded her own secret. King Daphnes was her nephew and the son of her long deceased sister, Queen Destiny. _

_Eowyn had been much like her mother and her father alike. She lived for adventure and the castle had been holding her like a prisoner. She met one of the castle knights, Sir Julio, and wished to run away from castle life with him. King Link and Queen Zelda eventually decided to let Eowyn run on with her future right before they both passed away the next evening. _

_Eowyn often wondered why her mother and father had finally let her marry her knight, Sir Julio. Eowyn left the life of royalty and eventually gave birth to her only daughter Brea._

_Her husband had died in a war along with Queen Destiny and Sir Kalib, her twin brother. The council had asked for Eowyn to rule in Destiny's stead until Daphnes was eighteen. _

_Eowyn returned to the court with Brea whom was two at the time and Daphnes was sixteen. She helped bring Hyrule to her feet and formed the final alliance with the neighbouring countries of Labrynna and Holodrum and married Daphnes to Rhiana, a young girl of fifteen from a noble family living in Labrynna._

_The alliance was successful, and Rhiana had a daughter fifteen years after Daphnes succeeded the throne. Keeping to Hyrulian tradition, Daphnes and Rhiana gave their daughter the namesake of her grandmother. The newborn princess was named Zelda._

_In the meantime, Eowyn and Brea returned to the small home in Hyrule City after living in the castle for two years. They kept to themselves as Brea grew up with only Daphnes knowing his aunt and cousin's whereabouts. _

_Brea inherited the genes of her beautiful grandmother and she easily caught her childhood friend's eyes when she was seventeen. Less than a year later Brea and Cheve were married and Brea had Link just before her nineteenth year. Link and Zelda were born right around the same time. _

_Link's birth wasn't revealed to Daphnes or Rhianah because then the court would have to recognize him as the heir to the throne before Zelda. It was an issue that Eowyn knew wasn't going to be for her grandson and so she kept Brea's son a secret from the court as well as her own family lineage. Eowyn knew that Brea didn't remember living in court and that was the way she wanted it. Aryll was born four years later. _

* * *

Some of the Hylian stories and legends were passed down from Eowyn's mother to her children were sacred and not known to the citizens of Hyrule. Link and Aryll knew the legends of the Hero of Time and so forth, but there were more ancient ones that both Brea and Eowyn knew and those were the lineage of the sages. A secret that had to be protected and not even Daphnes knew about the sages' descendants and their whereabouts. 

"Aww, Grandma," Link said, giving her big watery eyes. Eowyn shook her head before firmly pushing Link into the bedroom for his bath. Brea rounded Aryll up as Cheve went outside to catch the warm evening air with the neighbour.

Farther up the street from the happy family, Arya, Lania and Lania's ten-year-old daughter Shamariah, were on their way out of the city before the evening toll was sounded from the temple. Most of the Gerudo had died out but the four score whom remained kept in touch between those that lived in the city and those still living out their last days in the Gerudo Fortress.

"Arya of the Gerudo, what a pleasure to see you well milady," Cheve said as they passed.

"Likewise to you Sir Cheve. We are going out to the Gerudo Fortress. I sense all is not well there," Arya said, nodding toward the gates.

"The whole city has seemed unsettled. What could it be Arya?" Cheve asked, a trace of unease in his normally calm voice. Arya's hazel eyes hardened as she uttered one terrible name.

"Ganondorf," was all she had to say before mounting her horse. Cheve's eyes widened at the mention of the monster known as Ganondorf. He was in the legends and stories that Cheve had heard as a boy. Surely he couldn't be here now.

"That's not possible is it?" Cheve asked in worry.

"It is very possible, we knew Ganondorf, Cheve, and we know what he is capable of should he be here in Hyrule," Lania said seriously. A look of confusion crossed Cheve's face.

"How could you have known him? He's in legends, and early history," Cheve said completely not comprehending.

"That is where you are wrong. Eowyn knows the answers speak with her," Arya said before they were off towards the drawbridge.

"Eowyn?" Cheve whispered as he watched them ride off.

"Eowyn!" Cheve shouted coming into the house looking for his mother in law.

"Cheve! Be quiet!" Brea hissed coming out of one bedroom with Eowyn right behind her.

"What's the matter with you Cheve," Eowyn asked suspiciously.

"How do Lania and Arya know Ganondorf personally!" Cheve growled in anger. Eowyn's eyes widened slightly as she realized they must have told Cheve something. Suddenly the energetic woman looked her age as she paled slightly.

"Ganondorf, I should have known," Eowyn muttered angrily.

"Mother, what is going on?" Brea asked in confusion. Eowyn threw a grim look at the castle.

"Ganondorf. We all know the name from the stories, legends and history passed down from our families. As with all recounts of a legend and oral tradition they begin to grow muddled. The children of today live in peace because the threat that was Ganondorf was vanquished only a mere hundred and fifty seasons ago. My father the king was the Hero of Time of legend. My mother was the sage of Time, the seventh and the leader. She and my father put Ganondorf away in the Dark Realm when they were young. He has the Triforce of Power and will look for the two that carry wisdom and courage. Cheve, Brea. Link is in danger. He is the only living male heir of the Triforce of Courage. Princess Zelda is also in grave danger for my mother's line will give her the Triforce of Wisdom," Eowyn said briskly.

"Wait a minute. If you are the King Link's daughter then that makes you a princess as well as Brea. Link would be a Prince and Aryll another princess," Cheve said putting it all together quickly.

"Yes, but that is not what is important right now. We must place Link and Aryll into safety until we know the true extent of Ganondorf's power. Get them up and I will take them to a secret place," Eowyn said rapidly, worry beginning to trace her voice as the sky began to cloud up.

* * *

The Gerudo were galloped along the river towards the Gerudo Valley. Worry was etched across Arya's features as she noted the storm clouds in the west. 

"We could be to late!" Lania said as they slowed the stallions down.

"What's that!" Shamariah cried out pointing just a little further along the river.

"Zora," Lania answered as they spurred the stallions down to them. The three dismounted and ran to their sides.

"Shasa! Misu! Why in the world are you here…" Arya exclaimed but broke off as she saw the bundle of eggs in a clear watertight skin, "Oh, I see."

"What is wrong with them?" Shamariah asked curiously. They looked a sickly aquamarine instead of the sky blue that they should have been.

"We don't know. We are hoping to make it to the Marine Laboratory at Lake Hylia, but the going is terrible," Misu said, her voice slightly weak.

"We are getting ready to hunker down, that storm in the west is fast approaching," Shasa said pointing to the sands of the desert. Arya's eyes darkened as the feeling of certain death and destruction awaited anyone in that storms path.

"I've a feeling this is a storm we won't survive," Arya said quietly, as their fates soon became clear to her. They all looked at her and knew it was true. Lania held Shamariah close before speaking to her.

"Shamariah, you will survive daughter, I believe you will, somehow" Lania said softly, "You must run Shamariah, you have the sage of spirit in your blood, you have to survive for the sake of Hyrule should she survive. Run daughter!"

Shasa also sensed the sudden destiny of one the unborn Zora that lay gently in the flask. "Misu, we must hurry, we can still save these eggs if we get them lake. Shamariah will carry them with her as she seeks refuge. Ganondorf won't go to the lake. If she hurries she can still make it and rely her message to the Earth Sage while she is there," Shasa said. Shamariah nodded and quickly mounted her stallion before placing the precious bundle in front of her. The two Gerudo and the two Zora watched the future of Hyrule ride off into the winds of change.

"Come Arya, we may be able to reach the castle before time runs out. There are other descendants that need our protection," Lania said gravely, pulling her good friend to her feet and they ran for the horses. They could see the clouds moving and throwing Hyrule into shadows.

* * *

"My king, the clouds gather in the west," a soldier reported to Daphnes in the throne room. The King watched gravely from the window close to his throne. 

"I know, time is running out and I fear there is little we can do. Ganondorf will be strong and we aren't strong enough. Not without the sages or the Hero of Time. Prepare your soldiers to defend our people," Daphnes ordered, as he pulled his graze from the window. His eyes landed on his small daughter.

"Zelda," Daphnes whispered softly.

"Father, what's going on?" Zelda asked her wise eyes confused and worried.

"We are in danger sweetheart, we all need to pray for help to the goddesses," Daphnes said quietly. Queen Rhianah entered the room with grave eyes.

"His army marches Daphnes, the seers have confirmed it," Rhianah confirmed, fear lacing her voice.

"Rhianah, it is time to give _that_ to Zelda," Daphnes said, gently pointing to an heirloom left behind by the great Queen. The Triforce of Wisdom had been split the day Queen Zelda and King Link passed away. One piece went to Destiny and one piece to Kalib. Upon their own deaths, they passed the pieces to Daphnes and Rhianah. Rhianah pulled the half of her Triforce from around her neck.

"This will help you survive daughter, take care of it and don't loose it," Rhianah said gravely. Zelda nodded and took the piece gratefully, the royal family and Zelda's attendants awaited for the wave of destruction to hit. Praying for a miracle.

* * *

Nakia and her last followers could be found deep in the rugged mountain passes of the Goron Mountains. One would wonder how a race that thrived in the water managed to survive in the mountains for the few weeks that they had been wandering. Well, at the start of the journey, Nakia had invoked a plea to the goddesses that would allow her and her followers to take on a new shape for it was the water that shaped them long ago and now the mountains would shape them. 

They soon found themselves looking more like the Hylians but there was one major difference. In place of Hylian lips, the Zoran lips and the nose melded into the beak of a bird. The aerodynamic fin that was their version of Hylian hair turned feathery, as the weeks had gone on. They were scared of the changes, but knew that this was to be their new life.

That fatefully cold dusk in the mountains, the Zora sought refuge in the mountain caves. They huddled around a small fire as the wind blew cruelly outside. They were not alerted of the strange presence that had entered the cave.

"It graves me to see the Zoran race destroyed to your small representatives. Although I must say, evolution has done miraculous works upon you Rito," The mysterious voice said to the huddled race, and causing Nakia and Aderyn to rise in defence. The slight figure was cloaked and its face in shadows.

"Who are you to say what we are. You are of the same blood that had killed our brethren and now you mock us for running?" Nakia asked, a deadly tone laced her voice. The figure listened on in silence for a moment before speaking.

"I congratulate you actually, you have done my sisters and I proud. There is a slight hope for Hyrule yet because of your success. All is not well on the plains. The Gerudo suffer more losses everyday, the Gorons have come to despise the goings on. All are beginning to desert King Daphnes because the darkness has come," She said slowly removing her hood and the sapphire tresses that could only belong to a goddess were revealed.

"Lady Nayru!" Nakia gasped before falling to her knees. Nayru regarded them with amusement before nodding at them. The rest of the Rito were too surprised to react.

From the shadows three more figures appeared behind Nayru. One with flaming red tresses and the other with glimmering emerald came to stand beside Nayru. The final maiden had silver tresses of one that had attributes of her three sisters. Wisdom, courage and power were reflected equally in this maiden with grey eyes. She unnerved the Rito the most.

"We've heard your pleas and that of the people of Hyrule for many hours now. It is time to restore the balance that has been lost. The death of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage as well as the death of five sages has weakened the hold on Ganondorf's prison in the Dark Realm.

"We are here to protect the direct descendants of the sages, forest, fire, water, shadow and spirit.

"The Rito are blessed with two unborn sages that will take on the title of Earth and Water when the time comes," The silver haired goddess spoke clearly, causing shudders to run through them.

"Kariah, our sister, is the Goddess of Time. She has come to tell us what we must do to protect Hyrule as she did so many years ago," Nayru said quietly.

Kariah stepped forward to the fire, "Upon the day of Cataclysm's eve, _his_ army will march upon Hyrule and devastate her people. The sage descendants will escape harm but the people of Hyrule will suffer. As the army of darkness marches upon Hyrule Castle, the sky will open and the rain will fall."

"When will the dark abomination appear on the field?" Nakia asked trembling. Kariah turned her cold silver eyes to the queen.

"He has already, and his servants have dispatched to the far north of Hyrule and the far south. The Earth and Wind have been eliminated and the power of the legendary blade has darkened.

_The great Moblins have found their last Gerudo victims upon the fields of Hyrule._

Hyrule is dying and the people along with it.

_Ganondorf, at the head of his army, has broken into Hyrule City and marches onto Hyrule Castle as Hylian blood flows on the streets. Eowyn and the two children have narrowly escaped but Brea and Cheve aren't as fortunate. A spear has struck Misu as they swam for the domain. Shasa barely escapes and swims for her life._

There is hope yet though, you give Hyrule the heart to survive in what we are going to create to rectify the balance for a short while, be forewarned, this is only temporary until the new hero is old enough to bear his mantle.

_The rain has begun to fall as the army of darkness attacks Hyrule Castle._

The rain has begun to fall."

**

* * *

There you have it, and sooooo sorry for the tediously long wait. You won't believe the number of times I've started and restarted this damn chapter. Okay rant is over and I hope there is forgiveness for this lady. Anyway please review and note that this will be the second last chapter of Sea Flower. Later! **

**Kariah**


	16. New Beginnings

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New Beginnings

Ganondorf paused slightly as the heavens opened with fury and the tempest was unleashed. Water pounded on the army as they moved forward in their assault. To Ganondorf the rain meant nothing but an annoyance. To Hyrule, the water would give life. A satisfied smirk was featured on his lips as he glowered at Hyrule Castle.

"I will have my revenge on you yet Hero of Time," Ganondorf murmured with maniacal glee, as his army finally broke down the main gate that would lead into the castle.

* * *

The four goddesses left the mountains and descended to the field as the rain continued to fall. Kariah, the youngest but equally as strong as her older three sisters, gently drew her sacred instrument from the folds of her skirt. Her solemn eyes surveyed the damage quickly before making a quick decision. She looked at her sisters whom nodded in agreement as Kariah concentrated on the pale blue ocarina.

A hauntingly eerie melody was echoed across the field that was familiar to all whom knew it. The song reached across Hyrule to the very depths of Lake Hylia in the southern realm to vast mountaintops of the Hyrulian Mountains in the northern realm to the boundaries of the eastern forest and through the borders of the western desert.

Through the clouds, a burst of silver light erupted from the divine realms and engulfed the goddess within its light.

* * *

Ganondorf and his followers stopped their assault on the Hylian militia as the song reached them and the bright light shone forth on the centre of the plains. His eyes widened in absolute shock and fury as he realized it could only be one thing. He didn't have time to wonder further what he could do to stop the force that was acting on the field for the brilliant silver light suddenly exploded and dispersed through all of Hyrule freezing all that it hit in a moment within time.

* * *

Din, Nayru and Farore couldn't help but marvel at their younger sister. She was not only the control ruler of time but also was equally as strong as all three of them. Kariah opened her silver eyes and judged her work critically. The rain was still falling, but no longer in Hyrule but above Hyrule.

"That's an interesting effect," Nayru commented, her sapphire eyes trained on the dome that stretched across Hyrule field. Kariah, Din and Farore also studied the barrier.

"What if we used that somehow to fix things?" Din suggested mildly. Farore and Nayru nodded slightly.

"We can't destroy Ganondorf because that in turn would destroy the Triforce of Power. We can't do that because then chaos would reign in Hyrule. The Triforce represents balance," Nayru commented.

"Even in the dark times of Hyrule, the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage were able to balance the over active Power. It all evens out but now that the Courage and Wisdom bearers are too young to control the magic of the Triforce, chaos has indeed reigned," Farore said quietly.

"What if we move the Hyrulians above the dome, if the rain continues to fall there will be a great deal of water up there…" Din said considerately. "Yes, and we can isolate Ganondorf on a remote island and separate the other two Triforce pieces from his grasp," Farore contributed. Kariah listened intently for a moment before voicing her own opinion.

"I like the idea. How about we raise more mountaintops above the dome and make many islands. The abomination on one isle and the Hero reborn on another so that they won't find each other for a good number of years until Link is ready to take up his title?"

Nayru nodded, "We could keep the split Triforce of Wisdom the way it is. The power of the King's court is what has saved Hyrule. His sacrifice for calling us from the heavens would be to remain down here with one piece of the Triforce of Wisdom while the other goes up with his wife and daughter to the Great Sea of Hyrule."

"Yes, and I know Link and Zelda will be forced to return to Hyrule Castle. With the death of the Sages of Earth and Wind, the blade of evil's bane has lost its power. Until Link is strong enough he won't be able to wield it. We'll leave the sword in old Hyrule and it will be the key to unlocking Ancient Hyrule as we will call it," Kariah said, announcing a couple of her visions of the future.

"Alright, I'll move the mountain tops through the dome to the upper world. While I do that, Farore and Kariah could gather the Hyrulians and leave them by the castle. I will make the portal that Link and Zelda will use to return to Ancient Hyrule. Nayru, as Farore and Kariah send the Hyrulians to you can start reworking each and every memory, they must not remember Hyrule as it was but as a mere bedtime story from long ago," Din said giving out the tasks as the eldest of her three sisters.

"I'm going to start in the southern plains and work my way north." Kariah said moving in a streak of light towards the closest sage. The three sisters followed suit.

Kariah made her way to the shores of Lake Hylia and quickly found her quarry. Shamariah was clutching a small bundle to her breast as she bravely was caught in mid fight fending off a mob of Bokoblins. Kariah moved towards the spirit sage and carefully removed the bundle from her chest. As soon as Kariah picked up the bundle she realized that it contained her descendant. Carefully unwrapping the bundle she found a very sickly Zora egg. She immediately knew that this young one was the last living of the nest.

However the longer Kariah held the egg in her hand the healthier it seemed to become. '_Well, this one won't be a casualty, not this one_" Kariah thought with determination. She concentrated on the young Zora and speed time up on the young egg. It grew and hatched healthily. She let it grow to about ten years in Zora years, which would have been Ruto's age at the time she was saved by the Hero of Time in Jabu Jabu's belly.

"You will be the one to lead them back to this world one day young one. After the Hero of Winds and the Princess of Destiny begin to look for the New Hyrule. Good luck to you Mali, and one day we may meet again young one," Kariah said softly to the unconscious young Zora. She then sent the child to Nayru and Farore for the sorting. She knew that the young one and her kind would be met with some hardships but Kariah knew it would be all right in the end. The goddess turned her graze to the remaining Gerudo girl whom fought to protect the Zora's life.

Kariah pulled Shamariah away from the fight and gently gave her a blessing. "Young one, a few long years are ahead of you, but trust the one who speaks your language, and no others. They will come for you, Sage of Spirit. Rest now and protect yourself," Kariah said softly as she sent her to Nayru.

Kariah was about to move on when out of the corner of her eye she spotted something silver lying on the ground close to where Shamariah was standing. She frowned as she picked it up and realized that it was a silver triangle. She closed her eyes at the memory in conjured to her mind.

"_Zo told me to give this to you Arya, it is a family keepsake and she wanted you to keep it safe and pass it on through generations to come," Kariah said, giving Arya a silver triangle. Arya took the small chain with the silver triangle on it and gently placed it around her neck, her golden eyes bright with unshed tears._

"_Thank you Milady, from both my mother and me," Arya whispered softly. Kariah couldn't help herself she embraced her daughter._

"Arya, rest well on your adventure to the peaceful meadows," Kariah whispered to the still air. She then turned and soared to the aid of another group of Hyrulians. These ones were deep in the mountains.

The Goron race was in generally good health the only thing was it took Kariah a good deal of searching to find them. The development from the original Goron City was extended far beneath the Goron Mountains on the eastern span of Hyrule. They were on the very borders of Hyrule and going strong. Kariah's senses allowed her to quickly locate a specific Goron. Dimitri was in the council of his elder, Link of the Gorons. Caught in time and unaware of the goings on in Hyrule was going to be a bit of a shock to the race. And so Kariah gently pulled Elder Link and Dimitri into her stream of time, which would allow her to communicate with them.

The two Gorons blinked in confusion as they looked around and found nothing moving save for an amused goddess.

"Good day my friends," Kariah greeted softly giving them a moment to adjust to their peculiar surroundings.

"Lady Kariah, what have you done?" Elder Link wheezed slightly.

"It's not what I have done, but what the Hylians haven't done. Ganondorf has escaped the seal on the Sacred Realm and we have been called upon to help fix it I suppose," Kariah mused. Dimitri and Elder Link stood in slight shock at the news.

"Ganondorf has escaped the Sacred Realm?" Elder Link asked quietly, "What do you propose we do milady?"

"The rain has begun to fall my friends, I'm here to move your people to a sanctuary. Hyrule is about to fall into darkness and we are moving her people to new heights. However Hyrule will remain a place that exists but a myth to many except you Gorons and a couple of the other races. The Gerudo have been slaughtered and only one lives to carry on her bloodline. The Zora have split and a new race has been born. The Sheikah and the Goron and the remaining Zora will be the only ones that remember the true glory that was once Hyrule. The Royal family is as we speak split and broken. Zelda will come for you but don't expect a lady in dresses but a rough female pirate traveling with the Hero of Winds. I'm sorry to say it will be hard on your families my friends but there is no other way around it. Ganondorf has yet to realize that the original six elemental sages still have living descendants," Kariah explained patiently but looked at Dimitri when telling of the living descendants of the sages.

"Remember, the medallion of fire must be earned by one worthy," Kariah said softly looking directly at Dimitri.

"Ignifera Island will be your new home and as it is an island you will be unable to progress until the floods recede and diminish. I'm am sorry but it is for the safety of the fire sage." Kariah continued solemnly.

"We understand milady. We look to the sea for the princess of destiny to free us from our island as is our duty to my grandfather's sworn brother," Dimitri said with honour. Kariah nodded her thanks and the two Gorons slipped back into the frozen stream of time's river. A single silver tear slid down Kariah's face as she moved the Gorons to Nayru. She was about to move on when she sensed that Farore had already found the rest.

She made her way back to Hyrule Castle where her sisters were waiting. Scattered around the castle grounds were the individual groups of the Hyrulians. Gorons, Zola, Rito, Hylians, Sheikah, Shamariah, and Ganondorf. The followers of Ganondorf were left where they stood. However a particular group caught Kariah's eye as she moved through the Hyrulians.

"Farore, who are these ones?" Kariah asked studying the small figures that represented a cross between a tree branch and a person.

"I'm being lead to believe that they are the Kokiri children of the Lost Woods. I've been looking around the castle and the records say that they disappeared some time ago after Fado was named the Wind Sage. It's curious how they have lost their humanoid forms though," Farore said musingly.

"Hey look what I found in the castle," Nayru said coming up to her three sisters. Farore, Din, and Kariah turned to see what Nayru had.

"I found the Spiritual stones, but they have broken into pieces," Nayru said showing them the fragments of the once beautiful stones. Kariah eyed them for a moment before voicing her opinion.

"Let's go to the New Hyrule and see what Din has done for us before we look at the finer details," Kariah said nodding towards the spiritual stones. Her sisters agreed and together the four goddesses found their way up to the new world that had been cultivated by Din's powerful arms.

The Great Sea as Din called it was very expansive but still shallow. The rain was falling heavily on the world and the water level was increasing gradually.

"Nice work Din! This is perfect and Ganondorf won't be able to reach the destined children until they are old enough to fight back with the powers left behind by their ancestors," Farore said proudly. Nayru and Kariah nodded in agreement.

"Oh! Can we name the islands?!" Farore asked excitement in her childish demeanor.

"Of course we are going to name them," Nayru said amused by Farore's antics.

"Before we do that, I have to show you something I created with Ancient Hyrule in mind. There are three triangle islands that are equal distance from each other and if a triangle in the form of the Triforce were drawn the center would be where Hyrule Castle now stands below the waters. In this empty sector of water we could have the portal that will lead the hero down to the Master Sword," Din said pointing out the Triangle Islands.

"A hero must be worthy of the chance to go down there though," Nayru said softly looking again at the fragments of the spiritual stones.

"The spiritual stones would activate this place and raise The Tower of Gods," Kariah said quietly. "There we can present him with a challenge issued by us, the gods. If he rings the bell on the top of the Tower he is worthy of the title of hero..." Din, Farore, and Nayru silently agreed with their sister.

"Then let it be done. We must finish what we have now almost completed. The people of Hyrule will live on and prosper and maybe one day the flood waters will recede," Din said gathering power to build the tower that would be the center of the new world when the time was right. It took but the work of a moment for Din to shape the ground into a tall tower outline. Nayru and Farore then proceeded with their own unique powers to build the interiors and final the exterior face. It was truly magnificent. Kariah watched on and decided that in order for the Link and Zelda and the true sage descendants to find there places coinciding with old and new Hyrule, they would need a past that was written out for them… but that was the problem. The tower would remain submerged until the spiritual stones had been placed on the Triangle Isles. It was a tricky matter.

"Nayru what if I wove a tapestry to portray what we have just done describing the linage of the people. The documents in the castle here in Hyrule may one day be destroyed if the Triforce holders break the dome. The history that is documented will be destroyed. If the tapestry is made it won't be destroyed by water. It is the only way other than through word that the history of Hyrule will survive. We have done enough with the people we cannot save the documents," Kariah said taking up Nayru's council on the matter.

"It is a wonderful idea Kariah. And that history won't be revealed until the time for them to learn about the past comes around. If you start it we will help you finish it," Nayru said returning to her task of carving symbols onto the walls in the temple.

Kariah made her way into the hall that would house the tapestry and gently drew her ocarina from the folds of her dress. Her ice blue eyes gazing blankly at the bare walls as she drew the ocarina to her lips giving herself a moment to remember all that had happened in Hyrule. Then she began to play.

Soft melodies from the Ocarina of Time echoed around the hall and began to paint the history of Hyrule from her birth to her present and future state. As the Goddess of Time, Kariah gazed back through time and as those moments of time ran forward through her mind they stitched and stretched across the wall introducing everything and shrouding it in mysteries. The three sisters watched as they saw Hyrule create its history on the walls of the great tapestry that wove and stitched itself. Kariah continued to play revealing linage of sages and events such as the birth of King Harkinian the First and his reign and introducing the Great Queen Zelda and her husband King Link the Hero of Time. It also introduced Ganondorf and his own lineages. It was a great but terrible story at times and it gave to all the importance and small stories that were woven on the tapestry. From the sealing of Link in the Sacred Realm to the current floodwaters raining from the sky above the historical history wrote itself.

However there were other small oddities that formed themselves on the tapestry that introduced love stories and murders. Children and the bed time fairytale lore that swam around in their heads. All was magnificent and had its own meanings woven in and presented and sometimes, shrouded in mystery.

Kariah gently withdrew the ocarina from her red lips and looked at her work for the first time. With a nod of satisfaction she turned to her sisters.

"It is time we leave this place to our own devices. All is revealed and more. We are ready to give Hyrule one more chance," Kariah said solemnly. Din sealed the door that would reveal itself when the Sage of Light drew near to it. Kariah created a box and gently placed the ocarina in it with loving care.

"This is the final key to opening the past and my calling. The silver Triforce pieces have already been scattered and the sages I know. The keys to time's realm however aren't as they should be. They have been shattered and need to be repaired," Kariah said.

"They will no longer be stones but they will be pearls with new symbols upon them. And the tribes of Hyrule will hold them, as is tradition. Valoo the dragon, the Great Deku Tree and the Jabun the whale are the guardians." Nayru said casting the fragmented stone into shiny pearls and sent them to their guardians along with a purpose.

The Goddesses took a final look across the plains of Hyrule and then ascended onto the realm of the Great Sea and leaving behind a few magical barriers regarding the tower. They found the crowd of people and sent them away to their respective families and islands. They would wake up and continue a life written for them by the four goddesses and be oblivious to that truth until the time was right.

_Power, Wisdom and Courage is blessed upon the Hylians, Gerudo, Sheikah, Koroks, Rito, and Gorons. All will be fine for a while and when danger strikes a hero in green will take up his mantle and save the world as his mentors and ancestors before him. A princess of destiny's calling will bring her wisdom to the world. May peace reign and evil fall and we as the Goddesses and the creators of this land salute the people and their misfortunes. Good luck to the Hyrulians._

With their blessing the Goddesses left Hyrule to start over and have a try at a new delicate balance that was Hyrule's foundation where all lived in harmony and all was equal. A balance that can be tipped by the Triforce and within whom's hand it obeys. Be it for good or for evil Hyrule has yet to enter her second golden age of prosperity.

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**Oh wow its been so long since this was updated. Time has a habit of flying by... here is one more chapter and I promise the final chapter won't take as long. This was a hard chapter and it might have seemed a little bit choppy but nonetheless here she is. Read and enjoy and hopefully some of my fans have stuck it out. Please review and I'll catch ya on the flip side.**

**Kariah**


	17. Final Goodbye

Final Good-bye

The hall that housed the tapestry slowly came back into view as the Goddesses vanished from the plains of Hyrule. All those present to see Kariah's story came back to the present and looked at each other in silence.

Mali was the first to turn to the Goddess of Time still present in the room.

"So the objective was to give all Hyrulians another chance. A chance to live and wait for a hero strong enough to defeat Ganondorf once again?" Mali asked curiously.

"Link was too young being only nine years old at the time to carry his destined mantle. Accordingly the power of a prayer and the wisdom of the Triforce forced us the creators to react accordingly," Kariah said patiently.

Aryll was studying a section of the tapestry for a moment before turning her own attention to Kariah.

"Milady, according to this tapestry Link and I are direct descendants of the Hero of Time and the Sage of Time which of whom are also Link I and Zelda I. Wouldn't that make us and Tetra cousins?" Aryll asked.

"Yes it would Aryll. Your grandmother Nadima was also known as Eowyn the third child of Link and Zelda. She was, and I suppose is, still a princess of Hyrule. However Destiny was Zelda's grandmother and Destiny and Eowyn were sisters. Destiny being the elder and producing an heir allowed the ruling family bloodline to continue onto Tetra. Kaleb didn't survive the battle that rampaged through the castle. Tetra's own mother Rhianah survived as she remembers but her father she never knew because King Daphnes was imprisoned beneath the waves to await his daughter's return. He of course as they know died as a final act of sacrifice," Kariah smiled.

Tetra was quiet as the feelings she had for Link washed over her. She had unknowingly fallen in love with her cousin and now wasn't sure what to do. Maybe it was time to let it go, as it was likely taboo to marry one so close in blood. Kariah sensed the turmoil in Tetra. Her eyes were slightly amused but understanding at the same time.

"Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the ones we love Tetra," Kariah said softly startling Tetra from her thoughts. Mali watched in shock. Mali had picked up on Tetra's feelings for Link almost as soon as she had met her but the thing that had truly tipped it was Tetra's jealousy against Mali. Kariah was now telling Tetra that it wasn't to be in her own way and that made Mali wonder just how much the Goddess of Time knew. Mali turned her emerald orbs to gaze at Link as he too digested the information. His eyes were slightly confused but they were also very sympathetic towards Tetra. Link's feelings didn't fall for Tetra. They were waiting for someone else.

"So what happens now?" Dimitri of the Gorons asked curiously, "we now know how we truly came to be from Hyrule to New Hyrule but what are we supposed to do with that information. Technically the people won't believe us their memories still lay dormant if they exist at all."

Everyone in the room looked to Kariah for answers. She gazed calmly back.

"Don't look at me for your answers, they aren't mine to give," She said quietly.

"But Kariah, you are a goddess. One of our creators, what were you intending for us to do with the information that you just presented us? The families of Hyrule that were lost in the battle no longer remember those families," Tetra said tossing her feelings aside for a moment and acting diplomatically. Nevina was the one to provide the answer.

"The people of Hyrule don't need to know how we came to be but maybe if they knew their linage it would help ease them into the true history that was just thrown at us. I believe it whole heartedly after all Kariah is in the room right here with us and she is the Goddess of Time and she has access to the past, present, and future," Nevina presented to the group.

"I don't think that is a good idea. We all know now how we are here and I think that it is best that it is just us whom know the true secret behind the legends. The sages not only used to protect their charges but they protected many of the legends that were present. They protected the whereabouts of the Triforce. It was the original seven sages who built the six temples across Hyrule and enhanced the protection of the Master Sword and named the Sages of Wind and Earth.

It is we, the new sages, who have the privilege of protecting a new legend. One we can spread to our families through the form of how all legends start and grow famous. The stories we pass onto our families are the most treasured. One day they may need the information the same way that we now know of the Hero of Time and his legacy we will know not only of the Hero of Winds but how he uncovered his own connections to the legendary hero. It all comes to pass and will continue on that way," Shamariah said boldly. The room went silent.

"She is right. I'm one of the six remaining from the Hero of Time's reign. There are many legends passed down through the sages and royal families. I think it would break tradition and law to not follow the paths of the ancient ways set up by the Goddesses long ago. It has to this day yet to fail. The power of the Triforce of Power broke the sages' seal but that is because the time of redemption drew near as it always does in cycles," Impa said wisely putting her own ancient wisdom into account.

There were nods of agreement around the room. They all looked at Kariah as if to approve of their decision. She blinked in amusement before turning to the tapestry.

"The river of time is tricky to manoeuvre as it flows to the future. There are hundreds of thousands of slipstreams along the main branch but eventually they meet up with the original river. It is impossible to tell where those streams lead and who goes where. The past leaves a trail because to travel backward up the river is to travel a path once traveled before.

Every individual travels differently down the river. Sometimes there is a goal intended and sometimes there isn't. I cannot see for sure what your decision may do. It could do thousands of different things. A river morphs and adapts as time goes on and never does it travel the same way," Kariah said quietly.

"Then I believe this is what we will do. I think it is the best for Hyrule. I will strengthen the ties that have been formed through the discovery of the sages. Impa and Aekorra will no longer have to live alone on an island. We will incorporate and expand the boundaries of our sea and set out to find a place to rebuild a Hyrule. It will all be well for the evil of out time has passed," Tetra said royally. Everyone gave a cheer of agreement.

Movement caught Mali's eye and she caught Kariah's icy blue eyes. Kariah gave her a silent nod good-bye and quietly slipped unnoticed by the others from the room. They were too excited by the solution that Tetra had come up with.

Aryll was the first to notice Kariah's disappearance.

"Everyone! Kariah is gone!" She cried out in alarm. Everyone proceeded to gaze around the room but Mali stopped them from dashing out to look for her.

"Kariah doesn't like sappy good-byes. She would rather just leave quietly, like she did when she helped our forefathers. Besides, the gods come and go as they please. We may see her again or we may not. It is their world after all and we just happen to live in it," Mali said understanding her ancestor's reasoning behind leaving quietly. She was much the same.

"Then we have work to do. We have solved the riddle, learned about who we truly are and now we must protect what we now know and strengthen the ties between us. Should Ganondorf ever rise again we need our own descendants to have the knowledge and the alliances between the races. That alliance starts today with connecting the remote islands that we found the Gorons, Shamariah, Impa and Aekorra on. Also any other islands in the range of our providence will be accepted should they wish to join us. Now I'm ready for some fresh air how about everyone else?" Tetra said getting up and sneaking by Mali who was still guarding the entrance to the room.

The room slowly filed out except for Mali and Link. They both studied the tapestry silently for a moment.

"It was an incredible journey and I want to thank you for the opportunity to make new friends Link, the Hero of Winds," Mali said quietly. Link nodded slowly.

"So what are you going to do now Mali?" Link asked gazing at her curiously.

"I think I'm going to stay as I am. The Zola will no longer accept my presence as their leader. I'm afraid that they will always hold the grudge against Hylians. The death of Taya and Reuban hit the Zora race hard. I wasn't born yet but my grandmother Shasa still grows cold at the mention of the incident. It was very insulting to the Zora even when it wasn't Hylians from our lands that did the deed. There isn't much for the Hylians to do to amend their ways. Whether they will kill isn't for me to say but an alliance is impossible. They will have to follow the river as they will and are destined to do. One day in the far off future there might be peace but for now we will have to deal with them as they come at us," Mali said considerately.

"Don't underestimate Tetra's abilities to negotiate. She will try," Link said with a grin. Mali smiled back.

"What about you Link?" Mali asked.

"There are always adventures to be found on these seas. Maybe you would like to go with me Sea Flower?" Link asked finding her emerald eyes with his azure ones.

Mali smiled and leaned forward and gently caught Link's lips with her own. He stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. They gently drew away and Mali smiled at him.

"To the sea from whence we came is where we are going," Mali said grabbing his hand and racing from the room with Link in tow laughing the whole way.

They found their way through the large twists and turns of the tower's halls down to the large dock where everyone would be gathered. But as they reached the dock they could hear the sound of an ocarina playing a familiar melody. All the sages and Tetra and Aryll were listening attentively to the sound of music floating on the breeze. The Song of Time gently faded away as Kariah played her final good bye.

**

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Well folks there you have it. This is the end of **_**Sea Flower**_** and thank you to those who stuck out my long hiatus on this story. I really appreciate it and thank you all once again. **

**An extended thank you goes out to the fellow who got me back on the keyboard and writing chapter sixteen and this final one. It is him to thank for getting this finished… he's been bugging me for a long time. ****I hope you will check out future stories that are in the plans and happy reading. I'm signing off and hope to hear from you all again soon **

**Kariah**

* * *

Kariah had slipped quietly from the room and had retreated to the top of the tower. All had turned out well and the way she had intended. The wind of the sea gently stirred the silver locks of hair that fanned down her back as she gazed out upon the world.

It was a beautiful place but was difficult for the people who lived there. Isolated on islands it was hardly a land for a nation of races to prosper in. A sudden flash of fate crossed her vision and she saw the land heave below the sea causing a large rift in the earth to open and swallow the seawater. And bring the Hyrulians back into Ancient Hyrule below. These events showed Kariah that they would happen within a hundred or so years.

This vision of the future saw the rebuilding of Hyrule but with the rift in the earth came another entrance to the dark realm occupied by Ganondorf and with it came the existence of a shadowy species. Unknowingly the creatures of twilight would stumble into the ancient Hyrulian enemy upon moving into and making the dark realm their own. The sage of time would eventually learn of their existence and sacrifice her freedom to the twilight in order to save the Hyrulian races, and a descendant of the Hero's line would take up the sword to battle Ganondorf once again.

Kariah opened her pale eyes closing off the vision and with a sense of satisfaction she gazed down at the sages gathered down on the dock below that they had added to the Tower of Gods. They were making plans to unite and strengthen alliances across the Great Sea.

She gently drew the ocarina from her skirt and brought it to her lips. The familiarly eerie song that was Kariah's signature floated mysteriously on the breeze across the Great Sea in a final good bye. As her song finished she took one last fleeting glance across the sea and disappeared from the land in a flash of silver light to join her sisters in the heavens once again.


End file.
